North West Queensland Regional Organisation of Councils

20/08/2026

We extend our thanks to our Gold Partners supporting the 7th WQAC Assembly 2026.

From infrastructure and connectivity to legal, financial and professional services, our Gold Partners play an important role in helping drive conversations that support the growth and resilience of Western Queensland. Thank you to:

🔸Aspire Executive Solutions
🔸 Brighter Super
🔸 Fourier
🔸 GBA Engineers
🔸 Lackon
🔸 LO-GO Appointments QLD
🔸 Moray & Agnew Lawyers
🔸 NBN Australia
🔸 Preston Law
🔸 QTC
🔸 RESQ
🔸 Telstra
🔸 Veolia Australia & New Zealand
🔸 Westbuilt Homes
🔸 The Yellow Company

20/08/2026

NWQROC has lodged a formal submission to the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) strongly opposing the Federal Government’s proposed Disaster Management Reforms, warning that the changes would leave remote communities exposed, delay recovery, and shift millions of dollars in additional costs onto councils and primary industries.

NWQROC’s submission highlights that the proposed Disaster Recovery Funding Framework (DRFF) would significantly reduce national capacity to prepare for, respond to and recover from natural disasters. As outlined in the submission, the reforms would result in “roads being cut for longer, communities recovering for longer, and the closure of nationally defining industries.”

NWQROC Chair and Mayor of Etheridge Shire Council, Cr Barry Hughes, said the reforms fail to recognise the realities of disaster response in rural and remote Queensland.

“These reforms are unacceptable. They shift costs onto the very communities that can least afford it, weaken recovery capability, and ignore the fact that remote councils already operate at the edge of financial sustainability. North West Queensland is an economic powerhouse – yet these proposals would leave our communities and industries more vulnerable, not less.” Cr Hughes said.

The submission warns that the proposed 50:50 cost sharing model would reduce the Federal Government’s contribution to disaster funding by at least 14% in Queensland. Had this been applied to funding received by the region’s councils since DRFA started in 2018, it would equate to a $276.8 million cost shift onto North West Queensland communities.

NWQROC also strongly opposes the proposed increase to Queensland’s disaster activation threshold from $240,000 to $2.7 million, and the proposed Resilient Infrastructure Scheme – which, of the 750 Queensland betterment projects funded over the past 15 years, only 1% of betterment projects would have been approved under the proposal.

NWQROC Chief Executive Officer, Josh D**e, said the NWQROC, and its 12 member councils, are urging the Federal Government to re-engage with all levels of government to ensure that the reforms are fit-for-purpose.

“North West Queensland councils experience some of the nation’s most severe and frequent disaster events. Any reform must strengthen, not weaken, the ability of councils to protect their communities, industries and critical infrastructure.”

NWQROC’s full submission has been provided to NEMA as part of the national consultation process and can be downloaded from the NWQROC website at: www.nwqroc.com.au/news/nwqroc-lodges-submission-opposing-proposed-disaster-management-reforms
--



Burke Shire Council Carpentaria Shire Council Cloncurry Shire Council Doomadgee Aboriginal Shire Council Etheridge Shire Council Flinders Shire Council Kowanyama Aboriginal Shire Council McKinlay Shire Council Mornington Shire Council Mount Isa City Council Richmond Shire Council Local Government Association of Queensland (LGAQ) Western Queensland Alliance of Councils

20/08/2026

A sincere thank you to our Platinum Partners for their support of the 7th WQAC Assembly 2026.

Your commitment to regional Queensland helps make this important event possible. Thank you for your partnership, leadership and investment in stronger regional communities.

We are proud to acknowledge our Platinum Partners:
🔹 Department of Local Government, Queensland Government
🔹 Help Enterprises
🔹 King & Company Solicitors
🔹 LGMS
🔹 Proterra Group
🔹 Rapid Platform
🔹 RRETS

13/08/2026

We’re standing united against Canberra’s cuts to disaster funding.

More than six months after devastating floods tore through the North West, Ann Leahy and I joined the North West Queensland Regional Organisation of Councils in Julia Creek to send a clear message to the Federal Labor Government.

The Crisafulli Government and our North West councils stand together.

As Australia’s most disaster-prone state, Queensland deserves its fair share of disaster funding - not cuts from Canberra.

We’re standing with regional Queensland to fight for the support it deserves.

Back our regions. Sign the petition. Stop Canberra’s cuts.

13/08/2026

A clear message on behalf of North West Queensland communities: dump this disastrous deal.

North West Queensland Regional Organisation of Councils is backing calls for the Federal Government to reverse proposed changes to disaster recovery funding.

Communities should not have to pay more to recover when disaster strikes. These cuts would place additional pressure on councils already facing increasing costs to rebuild essential local infrastructure and services.

Queensland communities deserve support when they need it most. Join our campaign: share this post.

Burke Shire Council Carpentaria Shire Council Cloncurry Shire Council Doomadgee Aboriginal Shire Council Etheridge Shire Council Flinders Shire Council Kowanyama Aboriginal Shire Council McKinlay Shire Council Mornington Shire Council Mount Isa City Council Richmond Shire Council Croydon Shire Council

29/07/2026

When Tropical Cyclone Kirrily cut Ballaleah Road on Mornington Island in 2024, families were shut off from outstations, Country and each other.

Thanks to Disaster Recovery Funding – a Federal and State government funding partnership that contributes an average 65:35 funding split towards disaster recovery costs, council rebuilt it.

But under the Federal Government’s proposed reforms, which changes the funding split to 50:50, councils will potentially be required to find up to 15% of total recovery costs.

Under these proposed reforms, Mornington Shire alone would have had to have found almost $1 million to support the delivery of the $6.24 million of total disaster recovery work just for the 2024-25 disaster season alone.

For Aboriginal Shire councils, like Mornington Shire, who have no rate base to draw from and are 100% funded by the Federal and State governments to deliver essential services for their communities, this proposed funding gap is not achievable.

"A 15% funding gap is a wall for a council with no rate base. There is nowhere for that money to come from, unless we cut services that our remote community relies upon – including housing and support to allied health services." Mayor Richard Sewter

The Federal Government collects 80% of total national taxation revenue, compared with 16% for the State and 3% for local government. Shifting more disaster recovery cost onto the level of government with the least capacity to raise it will deepen the risk for remote communities like Mornington Island.

NWQROC is calling on the Federal Government to scrap the proposed 50:50 funding model and retain a funding split that reflects the real cost of disaster recovery in remote Australia and their capacity to pay.

Read the full statement: www.nwqroc.com.au/news/mornington-island-faces-multi-million-dollar-shortfall-under-federal-disaster-funding-cutback

27/07/2026

One month to go! NWQROC is proud to stand alongside our fellow WQAC councils at WQAC2026 in Brisbane this August. It's shaping up to be another bumper program - Built Tough, Thinking Bold.

--
Burke Shire Council Carpentaria Shire Council Croydon Shire Council Cloncurry Shire Council Doomadgee Aboriginal Shire Council Etheridge Shire Council Flinders Shire Council Kowanyama Aboriginal Shire Council McKinlay Shire Council Mount Isa City Council Mornington Shire Council Richmond Shire Council

📣 ONE MONTH TO GO UNTIL WQAC2026 IN BRISBANE

Local government leaders from across Western Queensland will gather at Brisbane City Hall from 25–27 August 2026 for the 7th Western Queensland Alliance of Councils (WQAC) Assembly.

This annual event brings together representatives from across 25 WQAC member councils, alongside senior State and Federal government representatives, as well as industry, services and community leaders.

With the theme "Beyond the Range – Built Tough, Thinking Bold," the program will spotlight the resilience, resourcefulness and ambition of a region that keeps building well beyond the ranges that define it.

Delegates will engage directly with Ministers, Shadow Ministers, Members, Senators, Directors-General and senior industry leaders on the issues shaping Western Queensland's future, including: Housing, Roads & Transport, Connectivity, Water & Sewerage Infrastructure, Disaster Funding, Regional Airline Services, Childcare, and 2032 Olympic and Paralympic Games opportunities.

From the Gulf of Carpentaria to the New South Wales border, the 25 WQAC member councils span 63% of the State: A vast footprint, one alliance, one united voice.

📍 Brisbane City Hall | 25–27 August 2026
🎟️ Tickets: eventbrite.com.au/e/wqac-assembly-2026-tickets-1993500995140
📋 Program: wqac.com.au/assembly2026

--
North West Queensland Regional Organisation of Councils RAPAD South West Queensland Regional Organisation of Councils Outback PR

24/07/2026

An opportunity to join parents, carers, MPs, councils, education & training, and service providers at a free childcare forum in Blackall or online on 3-4 August.

🖍️ Childcare access looks different in every corner of Central West Queensland - but the challenge is one we all share.

Join parents, carers, councils, service providers and decision-makers in Blackall on 3-4 August for a free forum focused on real solutions.

👨🏾‍💻 Please register to join us in-person or online.
🙋🏽‍♀️ Everyone with an interest in ECEC in our region is welcome.
🍽️ Dinner included on Monday evening at The Lodge on Hawthorn.
✈️ Travelling to Blackall? Visit the website for details on accommodation options and arranging airport transfers.

More details and register at: https://ececactionforum.rapad.com.au/

23/07/2026

📣 MEDIA STATEMENT: North West Queensland leaders have ramped up their opposition to the federal government’s proposed disaster funding cuts hosting a Disaster Funding and Agricultural Round Table in Julia Creek last week.

Joining the group and local producers at the table were Minister for Disaster Recovery, Ann Leahy, Minister for Agriculture Tony Perrett MP, Assistant Minister for Primary Industry Development, Sean Dillon MP, Member for Traeger, Robbie Katter MP, AgForce President, Shane McCarthy, Queensland Farmers' Federation President, Aaron Kiely, and Queensland Reconstruction Authority, CEO Major General Jake Ellwood (Retd).

NWQROC Chair and Etheridge Shire Mayor Barry Hughes said the reforms would have significant consequences for regional communities and the industries they support.

“There’s more than bitumen at risk with these changes and we appreciated the opportunity to raise these issues directly with the Queensland Government and strengthen partnerships supporting the region’s recovery, resilience and productivity.

“North West’s resource and agricultural industries alone pump billions into the economy and rely on councils being able to quickly restore the roads and infrastructure,” Cr Hughes said.

“Changes that risk local and national economic stability and shift multi-million-dollar recovery costs onto small communities is unrealistic, unworkable and unacceptable.”

“Reducing the Federal contribution from 75 per cent to 50 per cent would leave a 15 per cent funding gap that our councils simply do not have the capacity to cover.”

Applied to Croydon Shire’s 2024–25 disaster recovery program, the proposed model would have resulted in a shortfall of around $6.6 million – an equivalent to approximately $22,000 for each of its 300 rateable properties. For Aboriginal shires with no traditional rate base, and other small councils with limited budgets, any shortfall could require funding to be redirected from already stretched budgets.

NWQROC Deputy Chair and McKinlay Shire Mayor Janene Fegan said the proposed changes came as another blow in a year of repeat flooding events and the Federal Government’s earlier decision to not support a restocking package.

“These decisions just highlight a complete lack of understanding of the realities on the ground - funding gaps mean roads stay damaged longer, betterment works are scaled back, and communities remain cut off and exposed when the next event comes,” Cr Fegan said.

The group welcomed the Queensland Government’s announcement of its Unlocking Farming Systems for North Queensland project a this week - opening further pathways for the region to support Primary Industries Prosper 2050 and unlock new investment and employment opportunities.

Cr Fegan said agricultural growth depended on reliable infrastructure and practical disaster recovery arrangements.

“We cannot unlock the North West’s full potential without protecting the roads, infrastructure and supply chains that support our communities and industries,” she said.

We look forward to continuing to work with the Queensland Government as we advocate for disaster funding arrangements that recognise the exposure, infrastructure responsibilities and limited financial capacity of regional and remote councils.

10/07/2026

MEDIA STATEMENT: Remote communities could be left to foot million-dollar bills for critical disaster repairs and resilience works under proposed Federal Government changes to disaster recovery funding.

The North West Queensland Regional Organisation of Councils is calling on the Federal Government to scrap a proposed move to 50:50 federal state funding, warning it would shift an impossible cost burden onto some of Australia’s most remote, disaster-exposed communities.

Croydon Shire Mayor, Trevor Pickering said the move would shift more cost and risk onto remote councils like his - councils that are already managing vast road networks, repeated severe weather events and limited local revenue.

“When Croydon’s roads and crossings fail, the impact flows well beyond the shire boundary. It disrupts stock movements, freight, supplies, services and the regional industries that help drive Queensland and Australia’s economy,” Mayor Pickering said.

“Distance, geography, supply chain constraints, limited contractors and high construction costs already make recovery more expensive in remote Queensland.”

“A funding model that leaves a funding shortfall would make recovery and building back better slower, harder and increase potential for reduced scope or scrapping works altogether.

Mayor Pickering said their estimates showed how devastating the proposed changes would be for small remote communities.

“Following Cyclone Kirrily, Croydon secured around $44 million in Category A and B DRFA investment for 2024-25. Had this been under the proposed new funding arrangements, which would see the Federal Government’s contribution move from 75% to 50% contributions, that would mean a 15% funding gap, or a shortfall of around $6.6 million that needs to be covered by someone,” he said.

“For a shire with around 300 rateable properties, that works out to $22,000 per property - even stretched over five years it would mean $4,400 per property per year if those costs were to be passed onto Croydon Shire Council. And that cost would just snowball when another event hits,” he said.

The idea that local ratepayers could cover a multi-million-dollar shortfall is completely unrealistic and unacceptable.

Read the full statement at: www.nwqroc.com.au/news/remote-communities-face-millions-in-disaster-recovery-shortfalls-under-federal-proposal