2023 Annual General Meeting and Forum

On Friday 27 October the MRWMG, one of Queensland's oldest catchment groups, held their AGM at the Mt Carbine rodeo grounds. The official business was efficiently attended to and due process saw the previous Committee re-elected for another term. Attendees were then able to move on to the interesting part of the day- a general forum on Land use on the Cape and Gulf looking at new opportunities and enduring challenges. The forum was generously supported with a donation from EQ Resources and the Mt Carbine Rodeo Association did the hard work of organising the venue and sumptuous catering.

Forum: Land use on the Cape and Gulf- new opportunities-enduring challenges

MRWMG stakeholders and land mangers recognise that landscape changes of both the natural world and the business/agricultural world means we need to learn new ways of interacting with and/or managing businesses, especially those that depend on the natural environment which provides our essential resources for life. Finding new ways to make a livelihood, expand current operations, or diversify that will also help look after the physical landscapes flora and fauna is critical because without these things we have nothing. 

Success depends on partnerships and relationships not only across the local Mitchell river catchment but far beyond into regional, national and international realms where improvements and innovation are happening.  As the Chair, Fiona Barron, noted “The Mitchell is a vast area with enormous potential and can provide great prosperity if we learn how to live within its limits. Losing the health of this landscape would take generations to restore if it all, we can’t afford that loss.” 

The Forum featured talks from a variety of operators across the Mitchell River Catchment.

The two NRM bodies that share the Mitchell River catchment gave an update on projects and work happening across the Gulf Savannah and Cape York regions.

Mareeba Shire Council updated stakeholders on some of the weed work occurring particularly work to prevent the spread of the waterborne Amazon Frogbit. Councillor Kevin Davies also spoke of the vast amount of Council maintenance work across the Mitchell and the challenges of managing more than 2000km of unsealed roads. Securing funding is a continuing challenge for the Council to enable it to improve critical roads such as the Ootan Rd  and the Gamboola Crossing. These routes are so important for tourism as well as stock transport yet when the Shire has a population of only about 0.4persons /km2  funding providers do not regard the work as a high priority. 

Alan and Karen Pedersen presented information on their enterprise which is based on a best-practice sustainable cattle operation and the inclusion of eco-tourism. They presented information on how they manage their cattle for the most effective land management to ensure not only healthy stock but also a healthy natural landscape. They have seen many species of fauna and flora thrive as their landscape health improves. They have supplemented their enterprise income by having registered camp sites where people can enjoy a farm-stay and camp beside the beautiful Mitchell River https://www.karmawatersstation.com

A presentation on mineral development and the new face of mining was given by Ryan MacNeill from EQ resources. This current operation provides the internationally important tungsten resource. Ryan spoke of the WQ monitoring that is undertaken to ensure water quality is not adversely impacted. EQ Resources offers site visits that are open to the public. What is most outstanding about this operation  is the ethics of the Company focussing on a circular economy that has seen it win an environmental award

https://www.eqresources.com.au/site/what-we-do/mt-carbine-quarries

A further presentation on how conservation, social inclusion, and diversified economics was given by Mick Hinchcliffe, Operations Manager at Forever Wild. Many would know that Forever Wild operate a Mitchell catchment property called the Mareeba Wetlands. This property has excellent ecotourism opportunities. He also described the ethos of Forever Wild and its foundational pillars based on Conservation, Society, Economy to achieve functioning ecosystems and how their work can complement existing agricultural enterprises .https://foreverwild.com.au/tropical-wetlands/

Trevor Meldrum, Environmental Operations Manager and CEO of Cape York Weeds and Ferals, a First Nations not-for-profit organisation, described some of the current work and projects across the Cape.  Their work in environmental and natural resource management across Cape York focusses on major weeds and feral  animals such as pigs, bellyache bush, and rubbervine. However, like for so many groups, their work is limited by available funding https://cywafa.com.au/

An update on the Lakeland Irrigation Scheme was provided by Tony Potter from RDA-TN who presented information on the extent and potential opportunities that could be realised with this development. The next phase of this project is a $10m Business Case Development

https://www.pageonepr.com.au/post/rda-welcomes-lakeland-irrigation-area-project