4 March 2025. Shane McCarthy, AgForce General President.
After a few days representing AgForce in the some of Queensland's worst flood affected regions, it's clear to me that the sheer scale of this disaster has been and continues to be underestimated in some areas of government at a Federal level.
The primary producers on the ground are overwhelmed by the sheer scale of this. The Herbert and its surrounds have never been inundated with this much water.
AgForce will continue to lobby governments both state and federal to increase their assistance on the ground. The 25 thousand dollars assistance currently being offered by the federal government in category C grants is nowhere near enough.
We'll continue to advocate strongly that it needs to be increased to a limit of at least 75 thousand dollars.
You only need to listen to the people on the ground to know that this is a truly exceptional event that needs exceptional help.
The damage will take months, maybe years to recover from. We need to ensure that agriculture in this region can recover and not be wiped out from this event.
The Premier David Crisafulli and his new government has promised the new stronger home grants program will ensure Ingham residents get assistance, and that they will be eligible for grants to make their homes more resilient to floods next time. The response from State has been quick and decisive and we commend that.
But is that enough? It's clear our primary producers particularly need more assistance to be able to get back to levels of production that will ensure they survive.
Our farmers face an uncertain future with an estimated $50 million dollars worth of sugar cane now confirmed as being destroyed by the floods. We also are seeing as the areas dry out further to the west stock losses and infrastructure destruction to levels not seen before farmers in and around the Herbert really face an uncertain future and it's clear that people are struggling to get back on their feet.
Supporting infrastructure such as roads, the rail network, and the Ingham substation also need urgent attention. Local residents report the rail network as being in the worst condition they've ever seen. The damage is unprecedented.
Roads have been destroyed, and many sugarcane farmers will have no income this year. In fact it's not clear how long this will take for the land to recover.
The extent of the damage means the federal government needs to step up, and approve going to category D funding, to support the community so it can stay and provide this vital sugar industry for another five generations on from here. It's not enough for politicians just to visit the region and then not respond to what they've seen.
These farmers are the backbone of this area. They've invested their lives in this industry, and to see their life's work destroyed is heartbreaking. They need more support urgently, for their mental health as well. To live in an area surrounded by such destruction is taking a toll, and their pleas for help need to be heard and responded to. AgForce will continue to lead the way on this.
