Latest news with #BirdsvilleTrack
ABC News
16-07-2025
- Business
- ABC News
New barge a lifeline for Channel Country communities isolated by floods
After calling for improved services for decades, residents in far north South Australia will have access to a barge that can take livestock across the Cooper Creek when it floods. The announcement from the state government comes weeks after floodwater cut off the Birdsville Track and isolated communities from services, livestock markets and tourist revenue. A single-vehicle barge that previously operated at the crossing, just outside Etadunna, was taken to Maree for servicing by the Department of Infrastructure and Transport two years ago, and was not replaced before April's forecast flooding event. The communities surrounding Cooper Creek have been isolated since June 26 and could be cut off by flooding for up to eight months. Some communities can be cut off for 18 to 24 months in total during consecutive years of flooding. Mungerannie Hotel owner Andrew Norman has had to close his doors to tourists. He said the government should have acted sooner. "It [a flood] was always going to happen again, whether it be 2025 or 2030," he said. "[They] should have been prepared for it earlier … but they've come through with a good result." The government has purchased the new $27 million barge, and Mr Norman is making preparations to welcome tourists back. He said he was hoping to recoup some profit, after initially anticipating a loss of 80 to 90 per cent of his annual revenue. "The season's probably half gone … but I'd hope that we're back at 50 per cent at least," he said. Livestock SA chair person and pastoralist at Lambina Station in the state's far north, Gillian Fennell, welcomed the announcement for the critical route. "It is the most direct route to get livestock down into Adelaide and into other states," she said. "It keeps people's businesses running and also allows them to continue operating as normal." The federal and state governments have funded the barge under Disaster Recovery Funding Arrangements (DRFA). Additional grants are available for eligible primary producers who have suffered direct damage from the flood event. Cowarie Station owner Sharon Oldfield's family has fought for a barge capable of transporting livestock for generations. Ms Oldfield said a combination of media attention, social media, the scale of the floods and access to more accurate data from the SES helped mobilise the government. She said the next step was to ensure that the necessary roadworks were undertaken before the barge arrived. "That's the most critical factor now," she said. "We don't have a clear estimate yet of when it'll be operational, but we're really hoping that it'll be operational by the end of August in time for the Birdsville Races." Department of Infrastructure and Transport chief executive Jon Whelan said contractors north and south of the crossing point had already been contacted. He said preparatory road works would take about three to four weeks to complete and should begin by the end of July or early August at the latest.
ABC News
09-07-2025
- ABC News
Cooper Creek communities still cut off by flood angry over lack of preparation
Two weeks after communities and stations surrounding Cooper Creek were cut off by floodwater, many say they are still isolated. Landholders and tourist operators say it could be another eight months before waters recede from the Birdsville Track, and are calling on the South Australian government to reinstall the barges that have been out of action for the past two years. Andrew Norman, owner of the Mungerannie Hotel, in far-north SA, said the community had known "three or four months" in advance the waters were coming, but the government failed to act. The single-vehicle barge normally operates from just outside Etadunna, enabling the local community to stay connected and the tourist-dependent economy to stay afloat during seasonal flooding. With the barge not operating, Mr Norman said he had lost 80–90 per cent of his annual revenue and was only able to sell fuel. Mr Norman said he was "astounded" by the state government's lack of action, and feared he would need to close his business permanently due to lost revenue and mounting costs. "It went over the Windorah levee at, I think, 8.2 metres, which was a metre higher than the 1974 flood," he said. The previous barge was taken to Maree for servicing by the Department of Infrastructure and Transport two years ago. However, even when the historic barge was operational, graziers like Sharon Oldfield said moving livestock during floods was difficult. Ms Oldfield, who owns and runs Cowrie Station, said wintertime, when flooding tended to occur, was traditionally the peak market season for her property and the roughly nine other stations in the region, which collectively ran about 60,000 head of cattle. "We really do need that transport corridor reinstated via a larger barge or ferry so that we can continue our business," she said. "[If] we can start selling cattle by September … the impact won't be that big. "If this is still going till January … that's going to be quite significant." Ms Oldfield said that there was an "animal welfare aspect" to why pastoralists moved their cattle in winter rather than in the heat of the harsh outback summer. She said a fit-for-purpose ferry would cost around $25 million for purchase, installation, operation and ongoing maintenance. A state government spokesperson said the previous ferry could only run across a maximum of 300 metres due to cable requirements. "SES flood modelling had indicated the crossing point of Cooper Creek over the Birdsville Track would be more than 3 kilometres wide," a spokesperson said. "The community has also expressed significant concerns about the ferry not meeting their needs, with residents indicating they do not support reinstating a ferry that cannot be used to transport livestock across Cooper Creek. "The state government is actively working through all options, including a barge, as flood modelling continues to be updated. "We understand the urgency around dealing with this complex matter, and expect to be able to comment in more detail soon." Though Ms Oldfield said marine engineers had done a lot of work in the background designing a workable ferry, others in the cattle industry were concerned. Channel Country cattle exporter Dalene Wray sources livestock from stations throughout the flood-prone region. Located on the Queensland side of the border, the managing director of OBE Organic said a ferry was impractical as a B-double truck, fully loaded with cattle, weighed roughly 50 tonnes. Instead, Ms Wray said flood events, which were common in the Channel Country, needed to be better managed and planned for. Ms Wray said investments in aviation fuel ISO tanks could be used to quickly move emergency fuel into the regions, while improved roads and more bridges would allow pastoralists to more easily move stock around. "Critical infrastructure is different for people who live in the bush compared to those who live in the city," she said. "At the moment, we've got one bridge over a river, and that bridge has been taken out at Nappa Merrie. "That was put in decades ago — maybe in 2025, we need more." Ms Wray said poor road infrastructure meant that, during flood events, cattle from northern SA could not be moved east. "[We] can't do that because we don't have enough bitumen," she said. "Single-lane bitumen is also not the solution. "During major events like the Birdsville Races and the Big Red Bash … you've got 7,000 caravans heading west and you've got livestock trying to be moved east. "You can't fit a B-double and a Toyota LandCruiser hauling a caravan on the same road — someone's got to move onto the dirt."
