2018/2019

Annual

Report

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Queensland’s 12 Regional Natural Resource Management Body Areas

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Contents

Executive Reports

Chair’s Overview………………………………………………………………………………. 3

Chief Executive Officer’s Report………………………………………………………. 4

Statewide Projects

Reporting and Data Project…………………………..……………………….… 5

Paddock to Reef ……………………………………………………………………………… 6

Financial Statement 2018/19 …………………………………………………………. 8

For a list of Representative Regional Directors on the NRMRQ Board go to:

http://www.nrmrq.org.au/about-us/our-team/

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Chair’s Overview

Stephen Robertson Independent Chair

2018-19 has certainly been a year of transition for NRMRQ, its member organisations and leadership teams. For reasons we are all acutely aware of, NRMRQ’s membership is now comprised of 12 regional NRM bodies - a decrease from the beginning of the year brought about by the amalgamation of the former Queensland Murray Darling Basin Committee, Condamine Alliance and South West NRM. Whilst the amalgamation process to form Southern Queensland NRM was, at times, a little rocky, I nevertheless pay tribute the Chairs, Mark O’Brien, George Moore and Noel Strofeld, their CEOs and the respective Boards and Executives of the three organisations in making what were difficult, bold, but necessary decisions to ensure the ongoing investment in natural resource management continued in this important and challenging regional landscape. The NRMRQ household has undergone significant change as well with long serving CEO Andrew Drysdale and Executive Officer, Lane Pilon moving on. Both Andrew and Lane have made significant contributions to NRMRQ and their legacies will live on for many years to come. I am sure all in the NRMRQ family will join me in acknowledging and thanking Andrew and Lane for their outstanding service to the NRM cause. It should of course be noted that Andrew has not vacated the natural resource management space completely given his appointment to the position of Chair of Desert Channels Queensland NRM.

This is of course my final report as Chair of NRMRQ. Firstly, I want to thank Ian Heiner for the support he has given to me since his appointment as CEO, 12 months ago. Ian came to us with a wealth of experience in natural resource management and very quickly filled Andrew’s very large shoes. I would also like to place on record my most sincere congratulations to Julie Boyd on her election as the next Chair to take effect from October’s AGM. As a former long serving and respected Mayor of Mackay, I am very confident that Julie will lead and inspire NRMRQ towards meeting the many challenges that are before us.

I step down as Chair of NRMRQ at a difficult time for those who are committed to integrated natural resource management as a means to sustainably manage our diverse landscapes. Over the past five years we have all experienced a tightening of budgets across all levels of government which have materially impacted on our capacity to undertake the necessary on-ground work we, and the communities we serve, have identified and prioritised. The challenge for NRMRQ and its member organisations is to identify new ways to communicate with government, industry and our communities - not only why integrated natural resource management matters in an environment increasingly impacted by a changing climate and competing priorities - but also why NRM regional bodies remain relevant to meeting these challenges. I have made this observation now on a number of occasions - that we, NRMRQ and its members, are not owed a living by governments, our corporate supporters and our communities. We must continue to justify why we matter and why investing scarce taxpayer funds into our organisations to support our regional plans represents a sound investment with evidence-based results. We must also be cognisant of the shifting priorities of governments and ensure that our key messages and priorities remain fresh and relevant to the challenges our communities, state and nation face. I am confident that as NRMRQ continues to evolve and as new leaders step forward, these challenges will be embraced with commitment and enthusiasm.

Thank you to all who have been so supportive of me during my time as Chair of NRMRQ. I wish you all every success into the future in continuing to make a real difference to the landscapes in which we live.

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Chief Executive Officer’s Report

Well this year has been an exciting 12 months for me and NRMRQ. I started at the AGM last year and it seems like that was just yesterday. Every day I get the opportunity to learn something new about either NRMRQ, the history of NRM in Queensland and the great people that work in this sector. It has also been great to see what a significant contribution they make to their local communities both through the continuing drought and the flooding associated with the Monsoon trough that devastated north Queensland earlier in the year. I wanted to take a moment to thank Andrew Drysdale for the professional manner that he handed over the reins of NRMRQ to me and the continued support that he has been throughout the year. I also wanted to thank Lane Pilon and the other staff of NRMRQ for their assistance since my commencement. Lane Pilon left the organisation in August after being with NRMRQ (and its previous versions) since 2007. She always had the best interests of this organisation at the front of her mind and we will miss her knowledge of NRM arrangements in Queensland, her corporate knowledge of historical NRMRQ events and the way that she connected our network together. Lisa Russell (our finance contractor) has also decided to finish her contract with NRMRQ and I also wanted to thank her for her assistance and support while I tried to quickly understand how the organisation's finances were organised. Coming into this role it thought I knew a lot about NRM in Queensland due to my management and technical experience gained through a career with government and having worked in many parts of Queensland previously. I am very pleased to say that the reverse is true and I am in constant admiration of the passion, expertise and skills of regional body staff that I have had the good fortune to work with over the last year. I wanted to take this opportunity to thank all the members of the Board and the CEOs of all of the Regional Bodies for their support, encouragement and understanding during the last year while I learnt exactly what the role of a CEO is in a small organisation such as NRMRQ. This year has seen NRMRQ deliver the Statewide Reporting and Data project funded through the Natural Resource Investment Program (NRIP) and the P2R coordination role for reef regioanl bodies. Both of these project provide a great example of the opportunities for NRMRQ to work with a number of regional bodies and provide links across regional body boundaries. I believe that NRM arrangements in Queensland are at an exciting cross roads where the future is built on the successes of the past however it could look completely different to how it looks in 2019. Thank you again to all of you that have made this an exciting and rewarding year for me as CEO.

Ian Heiner

CEO

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Statewide Projects

NATURAL RESOURCES INVESTMENT PROGRAM

The Reporting and Data Project – Lee Blacklock The Reporting and Data project, was a State-wide activity funded under NRIP and delivered by NRMRQ. It focussed on achieving consistent communication and spatial data guidelines for regional bodies’ NRIP activities. The three parts of this project were spatial data guidelines, a State-wide workshop, and an annual report. In order to clearly identify the outcomes achieved by NRIP projects across the State and, wherever possible, represent them spatially, the Program requires regional bodies to undertake the timely collection of data in the agreed, consistent format. A key aim of this project was to assist regional bodies to improve the delivery of NRIP by effectively identifying lessons learnt and rolling them into subsequent annual work plans. The annual workshop, held this year on 30th April, was designed so regional bodies and their Government partners could evaluate, prioritise and continuously improve the efficiency and effectiveness of the projects that deliver the NRIP outcomes. This process reflected the core NRIP principle of adaptive management, where building on past success, ongoing evaluation, and using lessons learnt to inform future investment decisions, all underpin the continuous improvement of the program. Another key part of the targeted, efficient and effective Program delivery was communicating the importance of the NRIP goals, and highlighting the regional activities being undertaken by key stakeholders to achieve them and this was done through the Annual Report. The final part of this three-pronged project is the measuring and reporting component. With 12 regional bodies straddling a large and diverse state, getting uniform data is the ultimate goal for spatial data exponents. This will enable a consistent, whole-of-state picture of NRIP outcomes at any given time, and it will facilitate access by DNRME to data and information collected as part of its NRIP investment.

Photo from State-wide workshop

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Paddock to Reef (P2R) Coordination– Belinda (Billy) Thomson

Jointly funded by NRIP and the Australian Government, Paddock to Reef (P2R) is a cross-regional, highly

innovative approach to collecting and integrating data and information on agricultural management practices,

catchment indicators, catchment loads and the health of the Great Barrier Reef. It enables monitoring,

modelling and evaluation of progress towards the objectives of the Reef 2050 Water Quality Improvement Plan

(WQIP).

The P2R project engages landholders in management practice changes to achieve land, catchment, water

quality and community outcomes. It works to improve awareness of reef science, research strategies and

research programs by demystifying the science through targeted communication, training programs, science

synthesis workshops and technical working groups.

The P2R participants report annually on how their projects have contributed to improving farm management

practices under the WQIP. This information is coordinated, collected and collated, and used to model the

impact of these improvements on water quality, and to report on progress toward the WQIP targets for

reduced nutrients, sediments and herbicides reaching the Great Barrier Reef.

The cross-regional coordination of the P2R project communications improves understanding, confidence and

trust in the Paddock to Reef program and related Great Barrier Reef programs. The Reef regional bodies

disseminate program information and results, as well as links to related programs such as the Australian

Government Reef Trust and the National Environmental Science and Wetlands programs.

They also support research and development to improve the productivity and sustainability of agricultural and

fishing industries, identify specialists to fill knowledge gaps, and ensure management actions achieve practical,

measurable results and are widely embraced with a sense of stewardship and shared responsibility.

Photo courtesy of Reef Catchments NRM Group

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GIS Network - Essential Coordination, Information & Knowledge

The GIS Spatial Support role continues to fulfil a need within the NRM spatial community by providing a contact point for technical and data queries, managing licenses and attending relevant industry workshops as a representative of the Regional Bodies. Spatial Imagery Subscription Plan (SISP) NRM Regions Queensland manages a membership to the SISP which allows all participating Queensland NRM’s access to the latest high resolution aerial photography captured through the SISP program as well as current satellite imagery mosaics over Queensland. The current shift to web based services is important but is not a perfect solution given the challenges of working in remote Queensland. The unique requirements of the regional NRM’s require this imagery to be available on hard drive which is possible through this membership. The membership provides up to date imagery at a fraction of the cost if individual regional body groups were to purchase it separately. Spatial Support Activities

State-wide GIS workshop was held in October 2018.

Manage the Pricefinder subscription for 8 regional bodies.

Represent NRMRQ in relevant spatial/information focused meetings such as the Spatial Advisory Group

and the NRM Geoscience Australia working group.

Process data requests from Regional Bodies and consultants.

Process imagery requests from Regional Bodies.

Respond to requests for technical advice.

Identify new technologies / imagery developments such as Sentinel 2 satellite imagery.

State-wide GIS Workshop The state-wide GIS workshops are designed to include a day of technical training and a day of shared learnings. These workshops are focusing on the attendees needs and are well supported by the GIS professionals who praise the event as a way to increase their knowledge and network with their peers. The workshop in October 2018 hosted regional GIS professionals and represented most NRM’s within Queensland. Topics covered in the workshop include:

ESRI Australia training in ARC GIS Online and Storymaps.

ArcGIS Pro.

Regional Body staff updates.

Queensland Imagery and access developments.

GIS Network needs.

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FINANCIAL REPORT 2018/19

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Contact details: Ian Heiner Chief Executive Officer 0447 953 006 or ian@nrmrq.org.au Stephen Robertson Chair chair@nrmrq.org.au

NRM Regions Queensland (NRMRQ) www.nrmrq.org.au