Regional Drought Resilience Planning Program

Project update at 6 December 2023

North West Queensland is well advanced in the development of its Regional Drought Resilience Plan (RDRP) led by project managers from Yellow Company – Jo Killick and Kate Lavrencic.

Engagement has taken place across the region to understand past impacts of drought, challenges faced by communities and producers and key priorities for improving preparedness for future droughts. This includes a series of community-based workshops held in October, targeted stakeholder meetings and workshops held throughout October and November, and an online forum was hosted on 6 December.

A draft RDRP is being prepared for review, with the plan expected to be finalised early in 2024.

Background

The Regional Drought Resilience Planning (RDRP) program is jointly funded through the Australian Government’s Future Drought Fund and the Queensland Government to support regions to prepare for future droughts.

The NWQ RDRP will support decisions, actions and investment to proactively manage drought risk.

The Queensland Department of Agriculture and Fisheries (DAF) has partnered with the Rural Economies Centre of Excellence (RECoE) with the purpose to have an impact on how regions can survive and thrive into the future.

NWQROC has partnered with DAF and RECoE to deliver the NWQ RDRP project.

Based on evidence and collaboration though partnering with local councils, regional stakeholders and other organisations, the plans – led and owned by the community – aim to drive decisions, actions and investments to proactively manage drought risk.

Each plan will build upon the Regional Resilience Strategy as part of the Queensland Government’s Strategy for Disaster Resilience, led by the Queensland Reconstruction Authority.

The RDRP program in North West Queensland is being delivered in partnership with NWQROC and comprises eight local government areas:

  • Burke Shire Council

  • Carpentaria Shire Council

  • Cloncurry Shire Council

  • Doomadgee Aboriginal Shire Council

  • Flinders Shire Council

  • McKinlay Shire Council

  • Mount Isa City Council

  • Richmond Shire Council

  • (Croydon and Etheridge Shire councils are included in the Hinterland and Gulf RDRP).

The RDRP project is being delivered through three rounds of consultation led by project managers from Yellow Company – Jo Killick and Kate Lavrencic.

A series of workshops were held in October 2023 by Rural Economies Centre of Excellence and Southern Gulf NRM to hear from the community about activities and initiatives that can help to mitigate the impact of future drought.

Throughout October and November, the project team led a similar activity at meetings and workshops with other stakeholders in the region.

More than 50 stakeholders from across the region connected with the workshops to provide feedback on past impacts of drought, gaps and barriers to managing drought impacts and future improvements and initiatives.

An online regional forum was hosted online on 6 December.

The purpose of the regional forum was to:

  • Share insights into regional drought priorities

  • Facilitate scenario planning session

  • Consult on drought actions, initiatives and activities

  • Understand existing partnerships on current initiatives/programs and identify gaps

  • Seek involvement from organisations as implementation partners.

A draft RDRP will be prepared for review, with the plan expected to be finalised early in 2024.

More information

ProjectAleisha DomrowDrought, Planning, NRM