NEW STOCK ROUTES MANAGEMENT PLAN RELEASED

DROVERS and graziers can look forward to better managed stock routes across Queensland with the release today of a new management framework by the Queensland Government, Natural Resources and Water Minister Craig Wallace announced today.

Following extensive consultation with the Local Government Association of Queensland, AgForce Queensland and the Department of Natural Resources and Water (NRW), the Land Protection Council developed recommendations for the framework.

Mr Wallace said the recommendations aimed to improve maintenance and use of Queensland’s 72,000 kilometres of stock routes and reserves for travelling stock across the state.

The Queensland Stock Routes Management Framework will identify major stock routes as part of a simplified core network to aid future planning.

A Stock Route Assessment Panel, made up of representatives from local government, industry and the community, will be established to ensure routes meet pastoral requirements.

“The ‘long paddock’ is a vital artery for the Bush,” Mr Wallace said.

“It has a rich historical and heritage significance because of the way it helped shape Queensland,” he said.

“Nowadays the stock route network is being used increasingly for drought relief and more than ever it needs to be managed and maintained for use by travelling stock.

“This framework will assist local government to manage stock routes, so they are maintained in a healthy condition for the future.”

Over the next 12 months stock routes will be reclassified according to their use to assist planning. NRW will allow local governments to manage long-term grazing on non-essential parts of the stock route network.

Travel and agistment fees will also be revised in that time after local government and industry advised NRW that current collections do not provide for route maintenance.

“Administration also will be streamlined to provide greater service consistency for users.”

The Queensland Stock Route Network Management Strategy 2006-2009, which was approved by Cabinet last month, formalises current management arrangements and also allows for the implementation of the new management framework.

The strategy recognises that while stock routes have multiple uses, the primary purpose is for use by travelling stock.

It also acknowledges the importance of preserving land corridors, maintaining and improving stock facilities such as watering points and resolving competing demands on the network.

Local government is responsible for day-to-day management of stock routes, while NRW is responsible for providing the framework of legislation and policy for stock route management, as well as support to local government.

Further details about the new stock route management framework and the Queensland Stock Route Network Management Strategy is available online at www.nrw.qld.gov.au

For further information: Paul Childs, Craig Wallace’s office, on 0407 131 654.

STOCK ROUTES FACTS AND FIGURES

·Known in droving circles as the ‘long paddock’, the stock route network has a heritage of great cultural, biological, historical and folk significance for the Bush.

·The Queensland stock route network is approximately 72,000 kilometres long.

·It consists of pathways for travelling livestock on roads, reserves, unallocated state land and pastoral leases, and reserves for camping and watering stock.

·It has 700 stock-watering points.

·In drought, stock routes become vital to graziers as a source of short-term drought relief. Between 1988 and 1997 about 1.424 million cattle and 2.847 million sheep used stock routes for travel and agistment. Levels of use since this time appear to be increasing.

·The most well travelled stock routes in Queensland link major pastoral areas and provide passage between pastoral areas, trucking and selling centres.

·Stock are often trucked to north-western parts of Queensland from the Northern Territory or Queensland’s Gulf country, to be walked to destinations linked to fattening properties in the state’s channel country, or to markets in areas to the south.

·There is also movement via stock routes of stock on hoof between Queensland and NSW.

·The stock route network is managed on a day to day basis by local governments with support from NRW, to make sure such a valuable state resource is not overgrazed.

·Dating back to the 19^th century, stock routes were a place where people who were too poor to own their own paddocks could graze their cattle, sheep or horses.

·Stock routes also provided the early Queensland settlers with the freedom to move across a vast landscape, establishing new towns as they went.

ENDS