• Game changing funding scheme approved for Longreach Shire
• Model would work for other local governments

Member for Gregory Lachlan Millar congratulated the Longreach Shire Council on the approval of its $18 million loan scheme to fund further wild dog check fencing in the Longreach Shire.

“I advocated very strongly in support of the Council’s proposal and I am absolutely delighted to see it become a reality,” said Mr Millar.

“It will be a game changer for the Longreach District because it will allow sheep numbers to increase to a critical mass and this will be of benefit to the entire local economy.”

Mr Millar said that he hoped the model would be repeated in other western shires because it helps increase the number of landholders who can participate.

“The government funding is only a subsidy and in order to participate landholders have to have the capital to fund the fencing. This is difficult when many have not had income over years of drought. Some people are eligible for QRAA loans for this purpose, but not everyone is eligible,” said Mr Millar.

“Mayor Ed Warren and the Longreach Shire Council realised they could take a broader view than individual landholders. They were able to take account of all the trickle down economic benefits for the entire district when you have a sustainable wool industry. This is an approach that would absolutely work in other shires,” he said.