Call for stock route compliance officers in Qld

The issue was raised at a Remote Area Planning and Development Board meeting in Blackall last week, where mayors took the opportunity to brief Department of Resources representative Dr Steven Ward on concerns that had arisen amid the flurry of droving in the past six months or so.

Blackall-Tambo Regional Council CEO Des Howard said it had shown that rural lands officers were stretched beyond capacity and were being tested to the limits on a number of rules.

"The RLOs were flat tack, they couldn't be everywhere, gardens were ruined, they were losing confidence - it wasn't a good place to be," he said.

"Another thing is chasing up fees - it can be a nightmare.

"What's needed is a compliance officer of some sort - we're asking for government help, to help wield a stick when needed, not to follow mobs."

Mr Howard also highlighted concerns with the timing of permit applications, saying some drovers were applying for one at their starting point but not putting in applications for the next shire they were due to travel through until a day before arriving at the boundary, and expecting an immediate response.

Central West Region Pest Partnership Group chair Jeff Newton, who is the Longreach Regional Council RLO, said there was no silver bullet and a lot of historic issues to deal with.

"Things aren't getting better," he said.

"We're seeing stresses on RLOs, no respect for rules around weed spread, and expectations around NLIS tags.

"We're not perfect but the path we're on, it's not going to end well.

"People are getting very tired of fighting without solutions."

Mr Newton said a code of conduct had been discussed for four or five years, and suggested looking to NSW for learnings, as land managers there had faced similar issues.

Roma-based drover Bill Little has been dealing with stock route management in his long career and said compliance was a good thing, if it took account of issues across the board, and was enforced.

He said a number of issues needed clearing up, particularly illegal fencing and the drawing of water at public facilities without an agreement.

"We all know illegal fencing is rife, and there are places where stock routes money has been put into fixing bores that everyone's now tapping into and overloading," he said. "Users are pulling water out before it gets to the stock route tanks."

Mr Little agreed that there was confusion, brought about, he said, by different interpretations from council to council, and by stock route politics.

"Maranoa shire has been having a good go with weed control but in other shires, you've got someone in a car doing nothing," he said. "We'll tell them where the weeds are and they'll say, our hose doesn't reach that far."

The influx of drovers to stock routes when droughts began biting was a time when compliance needed to be particularly enforced, according to Mr Little.

"There were times when drovers were sitting around - it's a tool for drought management, but you've still got rules to abide by," he said.

At the RAPAD meeting, Boulia mayor Rick Britton asked why the permit system couldn't be completed at the same time as a National Vendor Declaration form was filled in, saying the owners of the cattle had to know they were going from point A to point B at that time.

"If they don't, why are they on the road in the first place," he asked. "If there's a disease outbreak, not having that puts everyone at risk, so drovers are running a rort (to ask for a permit at the last minute)."

Winton Shire councillor Tina Elliott said the responsibility for permits, along with NVDs, could lie with the owner of the cattle.

In response, Dr Ward said making the system as easy as possible sounded like a good idea, but Mr Little said he preferred making the permit applications because it was smoother on the road.

He said each council needed a permit to police movements through their shire.

"It's the differing interpretation of rules, and the politics, that's confusing," he said.

Dr Ward said he would be happy to take the request regarding management of compliance back to his policy team.