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Environmental funding boost

Posted on December 22, 2008, 3:03pm

South East environment groups will be working throughout the Christmas-new year break in a bid to attract federal funds for the region.

The Green Triangle will be up against the rest of Australia to obtain funding from the Federal Government’s new environment package — Caring for our Country.

But unlike most other areas, the region is not listed on many of the Canberra-generated maps as being a high priority area for a raft of the region’s environmental concerns.

About 60 people attended Friday’s Federal Government roadshow at Struan regarding the new funding arrangements, chaired by the SE Natural Resources Management Board’s funding coordinator and hydrogeologist Fred Stadter.

Commonwealth representative Barry Longstaff said Caring for our Country was a new way of delivering natural resource management in Australia.

With a $2.25b budget over five years, the program was outcome driven and aimed at funding projects which would “make a difference”.

Of $260m available next financial year, 54pc, or $138m, was available for all of Australia’s regions under small, medium and large scale projects.

But no funds were available for marine projects as $200m, the total pool of marine funds available, had been allocated to the Great Barrier Reef.

Dr Longstaff said previous funding arrangements had taken a “Vegemite approach”, with funds spread “very thinly”, running the risk of not being able to demonstrate significant outcomes.

“It is a business approach; there is a business plan,” Dr Longstaff said.

He hoped application forms for funding would be available this week and said the cut-off time for funding applications was March 6.

Dr Longstaff believed funding for successful projects which fitted all the criteria would be available before Christmas next year.

Following Dr Longstaff’s overview, those attending the meeting considered the opportunities and downfalls of the new funding arrangements.

Some participants were concerned the Canberra-based maps lacked a lot of information regarding South Australia and the South East in particular.

They feared the lack of information could limit the region’s funding opportunities.

Others were concerned the most significant environmental issue, water and the lack of it, was not included in the plan.

It came under a separate water reform package, with nearly all funds “allocated to the River Murray”.

Among opportunities the SENRM board’s Justine Drew highlighted the Upper South East was listed as a high priority for rabbit control.

“We are going to kill some rabbits,” she said.

Other opportunities included working with environment groups in Western Victoria and the ability to build better relationships between both government and non-government agencies.

SENRMB representative Fred Stadter said there was still “a bit of unclarity regarding the application process”.

“It is certainly different to the application process the South East has been used to,” Mr Stadter said.

“But it does produce the opportunity for an increased amount of funding — potentially.

“It also gives the SENRM board the opportunity to forge stronger partnerships with existing organisations and the ability to forge new partnerships with other bodes within the South East and Western Victoria.

“The impression you get is that the funding is for bigger projects.

“But someone still has to work on smaller scale projects — working on smaller areas of native vegetation for example, looking after coastal dunes areas, improving soil conditions on-farm — there are a number of projects.

“Improving soil carbon is a target by the federal government — the South East isn’t a high priority there, but in conjunction with some other soil condition projects it could result in some funding coming our way.”

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