Supporting Stanthorpe’s drought resilience

March 21, 2022

The agricultural community in Stanthorpe will be better prepared for drought after grant success through the Coalition Government’s $5 billion Future Drought Fund.

Under the fund’s second round of the Networks to Build Drought Resilience program, the Stanthorpe Agricultural Society has secured $50,000 to “Connect with the World” through an LED sign installation project.

Federal Member for Maranoa David Littleproud said that the Networks to Build Drought Resilience program focuses on local initiatives to enable agricultural communities to be better prepared for the impacts of drought.

“Something as simple as signage to communicate key messages, helps to build drought resilience here in Stanthorpe but it also benefits the entire Australian agriculture sector. The stronger individual communities are, the more robust our industry becomes as a result,” Mr Littleproud said.

This program funds events, training and small-scale infrastructure like signage that will facilitate and enable networking.

Mr Littleproud said that 60 grants had been awarded across Australia to boost community connectedness and help local communities better prepare for drought – four of those from the Maranoa electorate.

Other successful Maranoa projects include:

• $48,658 for the Society of Precision Agriculture Australia (SPAA) to run community field days across various locations including Goondiwindi
• $28,508 for the ‘Bright Spaces, Bright Faces’ Isisford District Hospital Museum and Multi-Purpose Centre renovation project
• $115,500 for the Warra Public Memorial Hall roofing and insulation project.

Through this second round of the Networks to Build Resilience program, $5.2 million in value will be delivered on ground to help prepare for drought. The $5.2 million is made up of $2.3 million from the Future Drought Fund, $0.8 million in funding raised by the Foundation for Rural & Regional Renewal and $2.1 million in cash and in-kind co-investment from grantees.

The program is being delivered in partnership with the Foundation for Rural & Regional Renewal.