Outback needs help to thrive
Queenslanders value bush areas highly, want them protected
QUEENSLANDERS love the Outback so much they want the freshly minted State Government to deliver more funding to protect our
108 million-hectare living wonder for generations to come.
A new survey, published exclusively by NewsRegional, shows 92 per cent of Queensland residents consider the Outback a significant contributor to the state’s “culture and identity”, while 91 per cent reckon visiting it is a great chance to “get away from the city”.
Galaxy Research’s Our Living Outback poll of 1003 people also shows 89 per cent of us want more support for people who live and work in the bush and 80 per cent of people reckon there is a big disparity between government funding for the city and the Outback.
Outback Queensland covers almost two-thirds of the state, stretching from the tropical rainforests of Cape York into the Gulf Country’s savanna plains and across the vast floodplains of the Channel Country.
Outback to Oceans project director Pepe Clarke said the region was under threat as feral animals, invasive weeds, and destructive wildfires pushed “native species to the brink of extinction” and “undermined” rural industries.
Mr Clarke urged Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk to boost funding for national parks, nature refuges, the Indigenous Rangers Program and the Nature Refuge Program.
“There is a sense that people in the Outback have an important role to play in managing the environment and its threats,” Mr Clarke said of the survey.
“Most people found there was a need for the State Government to provide more support for people who are managing the land.
“A lot of people believe the Outback is missing out despite it being a big part of our identity and our economy.”
A government spokesman said investment in Outback and other bush areas included expanding the ranger program at a cost of $8.1 million over four years and there was a plan to have 17 per cent of the state declared as nature refuges. “This Queensland Government has rebuilt the ranger workforce across the state, with more than 800 active and paid rangers now employed by the Queensland Parks and Wildlife Service.
“Nature refuges now total more than 4.4 million hectares with the declaration of more nature refuges this year.”
– NewsRegional
❝ A lot of people believe the Outback is missing out despite it being a big part of our identity. — Pepe Clarke