Region cleverly taps into funds for wealth of projects

OUR Townsville and North West Queensland region punched above its weight in the Federal Government’s Building Better Regions Fund with eight projects gaining more than $ 424,000 in funds.

I wish to congratulate the successful applicants on their vision for projects that will ensure the economic growth and sustainability of their regions.

The BBRF funding will help three tourism projects get off the ground, with $ 130,000 to collect and preserve Mount Isa Rodeo’s unique history through a multimedia gallery, $ 135,000 towards a music and cultural festival on Palm Island and $ 15,000 to develop a tourism strategy in the Burdekin.

BeefUp Karumba received funding to put towards its beef industry forum and Gulf Savannah Development received funding to develop a regional waste strategy for Carpentaria, Burke and Doomadgee.

The eight community projects are worth more than $ 635,000, which not only means better regional facilities and events, but also more jobs.

Many of the projects wouldn’t be able to proceed without funding support, such as the BBRF Community Investments Stream.

RDA played a lead role in promoting and supporting the new BBRF program, with workshops across the region, providing advice on developing strong applications and providing letters of support.

The Federal Government is expected to open another round of BBRF before the end of the year.

I encourage councils and not- for- profit organisations to start now on identifying projects that will benefit their communities.

Further details are available at www. business. gov. au/ bbrf

GLENYS SCHUNTNER, CEO, RDA Townsville and

North West Queensland.