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Have your say on future actions and investment for CWQ drought resilience

An online survey is now open for anyone in Central West Queensland to provide ideas and actions to inform a new Regional Drought Resilience Plan (RDRP).

The RDRP will support decisions, actions, and investment to proactively manage drought risk in our region.

The project is being managed by Central Queensland University and the CWQ Remote Area Planning and Development Board (RAPAD), with consultations across the region being undertaken by local coordinator Rachael Webster and facilitator Gerry Roberts.

Ms Webster said the plans reflected a positive change to a proactive, preparation approach to drought investment with a focus on ideas and action ready for implementation or funding, specific to our region.

“The RDRP is a regional plan and we’re approaching local government, community groups and service delivery organisations as well as individuals and businesses from across the seven councils of the RAPAD region who want to contribute to the plan,” Ms Webster said.

“There are many people with experience and specialised knowledge that can help create a plan that reflects our region and has the potential to deliver positive outcomes; we’d like to hear from them.”

“There are three guiding principles for us as we gather information for the RDRP. These are:

  • To build on existing reports and information from the last 10-15 years for the region.
  • To collect information that reflects people and communities of the Central West, as well as local economies, infrastructure and the landscape and natural environment.
  • To focus on collecting ideas and actions for the plan that are specific to our region for implementation or funding.

“The online survey is a great way we can reach across our large, dispersed, and busy region. It’s an opportunity to send your feedback straight to Gerry and me. Grab a cuppa and take your time to reflect on the past and aspirations and ideas so we can all survive and thrive into the future,” Ms Webster said.

The CWQ RDRP will be one of 14 from across the State. The Regional Drought Resilience Planning Program is an initiative jointly funded through the Australian Government’s Future Drought Fund and the Queensland Government.

People can readily contribute their ideas in an online survey until the 30 September. It takes 15-20 minutes to complete and can be accessed via this link:  www.surveymonkey.com/r/CWQ-RDRP.

Media contact: Rachael Webster 0428727605