The Western Riverina Consortium is calling for tenders. Photo: Murrumbidgee Council.
Griffith, Leeton, Murrumbidgee and Narrandera Shire Councils have been awarded $560,000 to help prepare for the next drought in the region.
The four councils joined together to create the Western Riverina Consortium, which applied for the funding. The money they have received is to assist them in delivering a Regional Drought Resilience Plan – which outlines practical steps to prepare for and deal with future drought impacts in the region. The consortium has already started developing a prioritised list of actions and pathways to build drought resilience specific to this region and address the needs of the community.
The most recent drought in the Riverina, which went from 2017 to 2019, was said to be among the worst on record and caused widespread hardship.
According to Griffith Council, a key element of the new plan is stakeholder and community consultation, to generate evidence-based objectives that mitigate and adapt to inevitable future droughts.
“I really welcome this announcement of funding for this vital planning for our communities,” Mayor Doug Curran said. “I feel it is a recognition of what can be achieved through collaboration of our four councils that have all been adversely affected by droughts. We need to build resilience in our communities for the next drought; our areas feed the nation and we must ensure this can continue as the nation grows.”
Griffith Mayor Doug Curran. Photo: Griffith City Council.
The Regional Drought Resilience Planning Program is jointly funded by the Australian Government and NSW Government under the Future Drought Fund.
Murrumbidgee Council has said this region has some of the most fertile irrigated and dryland agricultural land in Australia.
“As we look to the future, we need a plan that addresses the specific needs and challenges faced by communities, emphasising the importance of strong primary industries, agricultural supply chains, businesses, community organisations, and local government in building community-level drought resilience,” it said in a statement.
Minister for Regional NSW Tara Moriarty said the expanded program acknowledged that each region in NSW was different and needed a tailor-made approach to drought preparedness.
“Having Regional Drought Resilience Plans that target the needs of regional areas in NSW will help these regional communities forward plan for inevitable periods of reduced rainfall,” she said.
Murrumbidgee Council Mayor Ruth McRae said forming the consortium with councils from Narrandera, Leeton and Griffith was an excellent way to achieve optimal outcomes for the respective communities and ensure they were best placed to face the challenges from future drought events.
“Past experiences have shown that drought events have severe impacts on our social, economic and environmental wellbeing and it makes perfect sense to work collectively with neighbouring councils to prepare for future droughts,” she said.
The consortium is calling for tenders from organisations interested in researching and producing the plan. More information is available on the public tender website.
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