Balonne shire thumbs up to fence loan; Blackall, Barcy thumbs down

Balonne mayor Richard Marsh said he was proud of his council's efforts to secure the loan, describing it as a magnificent initiative that would not only improve the lot of the shire's graziers but of the shire as a whole.

"We see this as a generational change to the operation of the shire, to the point of view 50 years ago we didn't have dingoes and now we do, so we are putting in a process to control them," he said. "With more sheep come more people - they need to be handled a lot more than cattle, and with that handling comes population and more economic development."

The decision to request the loan was supported unanimously by Balonne councillors.

However Blackall-Tambo and Barcaldine Regional Council mayors Andrew Martin and Rob Chandler have come out strongly opposed to undertaking similar schemes on behalf of their landholders.

Speaking at an information session with QRIDA representative Tony Koch, Cr Martin said there had to be something better than a shire-wide scheme.

"We have put ourselves under pressure to come up with a shire-wide scheme over the last three years," he said, hinting at April's resolution put forward by deputy mayor Lindsay Russell, for council to investigate options for exclusion fencing funding for shire ratepayers.

Speaking to the motion, Cr Russell said there were only five full-time wool producers, three part-time and two meat sheep producers left in the shire, which had little hope of supplying council dreams of a wool receiving and handling centre and small-scale scouring business.

However, Cr Martin told the 40 attendees at the QRIDA Blackall meeting his council didn't want to expose ratepayers to more debt by administering a scheme to build more fences and therefore sheep numbers.

"This (promoting QRIDA's loans) is one of the alternatives we can offer," he said, adding that he suspected most of the people filling the seats had looked at or applied for RAPAD-facilitated state and federal subsidies but were not eligible thanks to being a single property.

Only cluster applications involving more than one property fit RAPAD's criteria.

In response to further questioning from ratepayers, citing the success of the Longreach Regional Council scheme and the news that Balonne was starting something similar, Cr Martin said it was "do-able, notionally".

"I think you will find the state government policy on shire loans is becoming increasingly difficult - five years down the track they might say you're unsustainable," he said.

He was backed up by Barcaldine mayor Rob Chandler, who said his councillors had voted 7-0 against implementing a loan scheme similar to that operated by Longreach and Balonne.

"Local government debt hangs off state debt - who knows what the state will do in future to rein in debt," he said.

Three state government departments - agriculture, treasury and local government - were approached for comment on this, but none responded.

In Cr Martin's opinion, the finances of QRIDA loans stacked up favourably with what shire repayments would be.

The Balonne shire loan will mean the 30 per cent of the shire that is currently fenced against wild dog attacks will rise to more than 60 per cent protected.

Landholders will be levied a special rate over 20 years.

"Council is involved in the construction of the fence, at completion council then hands that asset to the landholder and the special rate commences," Cr Marsh said.

"The first two years there is nothing paid by the landholder, the next three interest only is paid back through the rates and for the balance of the 15 years the interest and the redemption of the principal is done through the rates.

"At the end of the 20 years they would've paid off their debt to council with a special rate."

An independent executive group was expected to supply council with a list of applicants to be endorsed, with the council to grant straight approval.