Dale, Allan, and Marshall, Amber (2020) New Directions for Facilitating Quality Agricultural Development in Northern Queensland. Australasian Journal of Regional Studies, 26 (3). pp. 269-292.

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Abstract

There are major opportunities for growing the value of agriculture in northern Queensland. The agricultural development industry, agricultural investors and the wider community, however, have communicated their frustration with the processes for the prioritising, planning, assessing and approval of new development. For agricultural developers, a clear and low-risk pipeline of new and sustainable agricultural opportunity progressing towards investment is not readily accessible. Equally, a recent audit and review of the operation of the Commonwealth’s Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act suggests that current regulatory arrangements also might not be adequately protecting environmental values. Both development and community interests have raised specific concerns about impediments to new investment and the achievement of sustainable agricultural development in northern Queensland. This research project explores these known but complex problems, but finds that the overall system of prioritising, planning, assessing, approving and monitoring compliance in northern Queensland can’t be described as fundamentally broken. The research does, however, find that to achieve investment and sustainable agricultural outcomes, significant effort is needed to address key dilemmas. While water development only represents a part of the agricultural development story, the research optimistically suggests that the visionary development of sustainable agriculture in northern Queensland will contribute to national water security. Water security will also be crucial to building economic resilience post-pandemic and in the wake of structural change in the state’s resources sector. With innovative approaches, agricultural, environmental and Indigenous interests in development can be reconciled. Without the resolution of these issues, however, further investment in positive, private sector-led agricultural development will continue to face procedural inefficiencies, conflict and investment uncertainty.

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