27 May 2020
At Wednesday’s 27 May General Council Meeting, Councillors voted to endorse the submission of a funding application to the Australian Government’s Wildlife and Habitat Bushfire Recovery Program.
The Wildlife and Habitat Bushfire Recovery Program is in place to support the immediate survival and long-term recovery and resilience of fire-affected Australian animals, plants, ecological communities and other natural assets and their cultural values for Indigenous Australians.
This program will fund approved applicants for on-ground bushfire recovery actions that can be delivered by 30 June 2021.
Council will submit an application seeking $350,000 to fund the employment of two Bush Care Officers within Council during 2020/21. These officers would be tasked with, among other duties, obtaining baseline environmental data, supporting local landholders to better manage their land to protect biodiversity, as well as improving management outcomes on land for which Council is responsible.
Additionally, these officers would assist with implementation of the Southern Downs Environmental Sustainability Strategy, which is currently under development and set to be delivered in 2020/21, as well as contributing to the delivery of the 2019/20 bushfires disaster recovery plan.
Councillor for Environmental, Waste, Sustainability and Disaster Management Cameron Gow said that continuing to grow the services that Council offers the community is integral during time of hardship, such as on-going drought and COVID-19 impacts.
“Being able to establish two new Bush Care Officer roles amidst the current economic hardship caused by COVID-19 is incredibly important,” said Councillor Gow.
“Our attention has been focused on reducing the threat of COVID-19 and providing our community with appropriate supports to deal with that. But we cannot forget the importance of maintaining the health of our landscape and natural environment as well.
“The Southern Downs has an incredibly diverse and unique landscape that needs to be protected and maintained, particularly in the wake of the devastating bushfires that swept our region during 2019.
“This application to the Wildlife and Habitat Bushfire Recovery Program, if successful, allows Council to continue our commitment to environmental care while also ensuring we can allocate our budget where it is most needed during this pandemic.”
The $350,000 sought within the application is anticipated to be sufficient to cover all costs and as such there is no budget implication for Council.