Drought Communities Program - What the 35 WA Shires are doing with the $500K-$1M boost

Increasingly dry conditions over the past few years have forced many West Aussie farmers to make tough decisions and left many towns “praying for rain.” From spending thousands carting water, buying feed and agisting stock to reseeding sandblasted crops or destocking altogether, the past few seasons have proved arduous and difficult ones. So when an invitation to take part in the Federal Government’s Drought Communities Programme — which grants eligible councils $1million or $500,000 for community infrastructure or drought-relief projects — was extended to 35 WA shires in January, they wasted no time with their RSVPs. As part of the $301 million nationwide initiative — which this year was opened to WA for the first time — 25 local governments were awarded $1million and a further 10 received $500,000. From dam expansions and the installation of bores and water tanks to community facility upgrades, tourism campaigns and townscaping, the funding will be spent on about 150 projects across the State, creating hundreds of local jobs. Shire of Coorow president Moira Girando dubbed it an “opportunity of a lifetime” for the Mid West shire, which will be putting their million towards a myriad of community, tourism and water projects. “We have three towns and a population of just 1000, so every fundraising dollar is competing with every other dollar,” she said. Councils were deemed eligible based on rainfall deficiency data from the Bureau of Meteorology, coupled with population and industry data, focusing on the community’s reliance on agriculture. And while the name might suggest it, the projects did not need to be focused on drought relief. As long as they provided work for people whose employment had been impacted by drought, used local resources, stimulated the local economy and brought a long-term benefit to the community and agricultural industry, they could get the big, green tick. However, several chose to focus on building their community’s resilience to increasingly dry conditions. With projects required to be finished by June 30, 2021, the shires have submitted their project applications and are awaiting final approval. The Great Southern’s Shire of Kent is planning to use the $500,000 to undertake catchment work at Pingrup and Nyabing as well as upgrading the Nyabing Town Hall and developing a tourist walk trail. “Water’s been our biggest focus — we’re praying for rain,” Shire president Scott Crosby said. Esperance’s $1m will be split in three to help the Cascade, Grasspatch and Scaddan communities which Shire president Ian Mickel said had “battled” over the past few years. Scaddan West received just 194.1mm of rain last year, almost 200mm below average. He said the water would not only assist farmers but allow locals who found “solace in their gardens” to keep them green. In the Wheatbelt Shire of Dumbleyung, last year’s 266.2mm was a far cry from 2017’s 500.9mm. With no water at Kukerin and East Kukerin as a result, Shire president Julie Ramm said they had to source water from another dam and farmers had been queuing to fill their tanks. Having to hire a standpipe as the dam was not set up with a pump, Ms Ramm said it became apparent the shire may need to invest in a portable unit of their own. “Unfortunately, with the way water is at the moment, we thought we might have to get our own,” she said. “We’ll be purchasing one with overhead fill capacity which is better than ground fill as it is quicker and easier to access for farmers. It will also help in the event of a fire.” The town’s stock dam is also set to be the location for a pilot project using dam covers to reduce evaporation, which is hoped could save millions of litres of water. “It could be quite an exciting trial and really make a difference,” Ms Ramm said. “We’ll put the cover over one dam and compare the evaporation to that of one of our other dams.” More water tanks and bore upgrades are among projects Shire of Corrigin chief executive Natalie Manton, pictured right, has planned for the shire, which this year to July received 190.4mm. For some shires, the funding opened the door for the construction of much needed infrastructure. “We’re hoping to put it towards a new supermarket after our supermarket burnt down in March,” Bruce Rock Shire president Stephen Strange said. When asked why it was such an important project for the community, his response was simple. “No shop, no town”. In Wickepin, the money will be put towards a cause Shire president Julie Russell said the community had rallied around for more than 20 years — building independent-living units so the older generations can retire in the town they called home. “It’s new infrastructure and will have a snowball effect on the town by bringing vibrancy, supporting local businesses and the local bowls club.” A community garden, men’s shed and youth shed are on the cards for Brookton — subject to council approval — which Shire president Katrina Crute, pictured left, said had been a topic of discussion with the community over a number of years. And with West Aussie tourism skyrocketing as thousands embrace the State Government’s Wander out Yonder slogan, the money is also set to bolster many town’s tourism capabilities as they see unprecedented visitation by holidaymakers. “We weren’t ready for this,” Dandaragan Shire president Leslee Holmes said. “We’re very fortunate to have all of these people coming through, but we don’t have the infrastructure.” The Wheatbelt shire’s $1m will be split between Badgingarra, Dandaragan, Jurien Bay and Cervantes, focusing on road upgrades and rerouting to improve traffic flow and divert caravanners off the main streets. Several towns are also set to get a facelift with town and streetscaping on a number of shires’ lists. “We’re trying to entice weekend visitors,” Pingelly Shire president William Mulroney said of plans to revamp Memorial Park in the heart of town. “This was our way of trying to make the town look better, considering we’re only a day or weekend trip from Perth.” While wonderful for those who received it, others felt snubbed by the Federal Government’s eligibility criteria. Morawa was one of 17 local governments — including Perenjori, Murchison and Meekatharra — which joined forces to ask the WA Local Government Association to advocate to the Federal Government on their behalf. While some shires getting less than 200mm a year missed out, others receiving two to three times that — including Busselton, Donnybrook-Balingup and Bridgetown-Greenbushes — got a look in, ruffling the feathers of some deemed ineligible. Ms Chappel said residents had been left scratching their heads as to why the funding failed to come their way, and while she believed the “gate had been shut” on the DCP, if it was to be reopened, an overhaul of the criteria was necessary. While disappointed, she said there were no hard feelings towards the shires which were enjoying the boost. City of Busselton Mayor Grant Henley said they were looking to use the funding “in the spirit that it was given,” putting it towards a $3 million exploratory drilling project to access underground water in Dunsborough. Less than 500mm fell on the shire last year — about 300mm less than average — which Mr Henley said had led to farmers’ irrigation bores and dams drying up and water allocations reaching their limits. A little below 660mm fell in Donnybrook last year — down from 897.2mm in 2018 — about 300mm lower than the South West town’s 969.8mm average. With 40 per cent of the shire’s gross domestic product arising from agriculture — from orchards to stock — Donnybrook-Balingup Shire president Brian Piesse said the decrease in rainfall over the past three years had seen their standpipe, pictured above, cop a “hammering”. And with only one commercial standpipe in the shire, Mr Piesse said the costs were adding up for Balingup farmers more than 30km away whose dams were running dry. One Brookhampton resident said it would cost him $700 to get 20,000L carted to his property 10km down the road, instead opting to drive in every week himself to cart smaller volumes. Mr Piesse said while they had received more rain than other shires, the shire had satisfied the DCP criteria and would use the funding to install new standpipes — one in Balingup and replace the existing 40-year-old one in Donnybrook — to better equip the area if the downward trend in rainfall continued. “If the last couple of years is the new norm, we’ll be well prepared,” he said. “If we have a wet year, we’ll be better off. But if we don’t, we’re putting in place the infrastructure to maintain a sustainable agricultural presence. “We’re pretty proud we’re still focused on agriculture and it has been maintained as a major industry — all of these things are so important to us.” The lack of recognition came as a kick in the teeth for shires in the drought-ravaged Southern Rangelands, who have been fighting for their extreme conditions to be recognised as more than “just a dry season” for years. “We’ve had about 100mm since 2018,” Laverton Shire president Pat Hill said. “There was no way we were going to be eligible with the way it was set up with employment and population criteria with the vast country that the pastoral stations cover. But we’ve got the biggest distances to cart stock, maintain fencing and put in extra pipelines and desalination plants.” Minister for Agriculture and Food Alannah MacTiernan said she and Minister for Water Dave Kelly raised the matter with Federal Minister for Agriculture, Drought and Emergency Management David Littleproud, who in March advised them the areas did not meet the DCP’s funding allocation methodology. Another blow for those battling dry conditions, Ms MacTiernan said the first tranche of the Federal Government’s $100 million Future Drought Fund “bypassed critical Western Australian projects” and would not “deal with systemic drought” in WA, a move she called “disappointing”. She said they would continue to advocate WA’s “unique seasonal characteristics” and call for more transparency around the selection criteria used by the Federal Government’s drought-support programs. Shire of Dundas president Laurene Bonza said for years they had been exploring State and Federal avenues to land funding for the Southern Rangelands region’s embattled pastoralists. For them, the battle is not over, with representatives from the Goldfields shires of Laverton, Wiluna and Dundas forming their own drought committee to lobby for funding. On September 25, they will be taking a Shire of Dundas motion to WALGA’s annual general meeting in the hope they can give the DCP another crack. Ms Bonza said the Goldfields shire narrowly missed out after meeting the rainfall criteria, but failing in its reliance on agriculture. “Once they finally realised WA was here, it was a pretty arbitrary way of allocating the funding,” she said. “Our poor pastoralists, not just in our shire but the Southern Rangelands, are doing it really tough.