19/08/2005 - The Australian
Government will lead a forum in Brisbane next
week on how to better use weather and climate
information to effectively plan for Queensland's
long-term water management needs.
Greg Hunt MP, Parliamentary Secretary with
ministerial responsibility for the Australian
Bureau of Meteorology said the forum will
look at ways to improve the exchange of information
as a means of better managing our most precious
resource - water.
"How we manage water use effectively
on the driest inhabited continent on the planet
is a long-term issue for all Australians,"
Mr Hunt said.
"This forum brings together a broad
cross-section of the Queensland community
and discusses how to make the best use of
weather and climate information - such as
seasonal outlooks and rainfall forecasts -
to address this issue and meet the needs of
industry and the community.
"A key focus is improving awareness
of the range of weather and climate data available
from the Bureau of Meteorology and how this
can be incorporated into effective decision-making
on water use or in drought-proofing businesses
for future climate changes.
"This forum has application across all
sectors of industry and the community. For
the agricultural community, it may involve
factoring in the latest rainfall projections
in determining the type of land management
practices to adopt to achieve optimum results.
While this same weather information may be
used by water service providers to develop
long-term contingency plans to meet water
demand in urban and regional communities."
The 2nd Queensland Agricultural Climate and
Weather Services Forum has been organised
by the Australian Government's Bureau of Meteorology
in conjunction with CSIRO, the Queensland
Government Departments of Primary Industries
and Fisheries and Natural Resources and Mines,
Brisbane City Council, SunWater and the Managing
Climate Variability program.
Representatives of the State Government,
SunWater, the Brisbane City Council, the Queensland
Farmers' Federation, AgForce Queensland, Queensland
Fruit and Vegetable Growers' Association,
Canegrowers' Association and the farming community
in general will attend the forum.
Similar forums have taken place around Australia
over the past year aimed at strengthening
the Commonwealth Bureau's links with State
based agencies, Local government and, importantly,
the agricultural community itself.
