The north-west Queensland Monsoon event of 26 January – 9 February 2019: report of a landholder survey into impact and recovery

Abstract

Forty percent of north-west Queensland’s grazing lands were exposed to an extreme weather event in early 2019. Flooding and inundation resulted from record rainfall associated with a Monsoonal trough between 26th January and 9th February 2019. This flooding, wet conditions and cold weather caused the death of an estimated 457,000 head of cattle, 43,000 sheep, 710 horses and over 3,000 goats across 11.4 million ha.
Approximately 22,000 km of fencing and 29,000 km of farm roads and tracks were destroyed or damaged in conjunction with riverine and landscape erosion. Further damage to infrastructure included 2,320 km of poly pipe and 1,350 tanks and troughs destroyed or damaged, the loss of farm machinery such as motorbikes and graders, equipment such as tools and generators, stock and domestic dams, livestock handling facilities, sheds and houses.
Primary producers have been accessing Special Disaster Assistance Recovery Grants (SDARG), and find these simple to access and very useful. Some survey respondents indicated they were not able to access grants as they did not qualify as primary producers, despite owning livestock.
Survey respondents identified a lack of pasture growth following the flooding as a key issue, and a limitation to their ability to restock. Most had replaced and repaired fences but had not yet moved onto other infrastructure. Nearly 70% of destroyed or damaged fences had been replaced by the end of September 2019, and 24% of cattle and 20% of sheep restocked. Few horses (3%) and no goats had been replaced. The majority of restocking and repairs had been conducted by respondents who had already received a grant.
Respondents were interested in receiving more information on pasture recovery, erosion control, technology and general businesses information. They also identified concern over the spread and increase of weeds such as prickly acacia, parthenium, noogoora burr and rubber vine. Their strong preference was to receive information by email, whilst websites, small groups and property visits were also preferred. They would prefer to be provided this information by the Department of Agriculture and Fisheries (DAF), Queensland Rural and Industry Development Authority (QRIDA), AgForce, Local Government, Natural Resource Management (NRM) groups and the North Queensland Livestock Industry Recovery Agency (NQLIRA).