Giddy up! Albo ready for his first time at massive event

It’s the biggest event of its kind in the southern hemisphere, and the Prime Minister has been roped in by a strange bedfellow.

Stacey and Mel Wilburn will be competing at the Mount Isa Rodeo this weekend. Picture Peter Wallis

Drought-resistant crops, super soils and feed for cattle that can help farms stay “ahead of the curve” when the next big dry strikes will be funded under a $38 million investment unveiled at the Bush Summit.

Anthony Albanese will announce six long-term trials of drought-resilient farming practices grants when he visits Tamworth on Friday to deliver the keynote address for the summit series, which starts in NSW before hitting the road to Victoria, Queensland, South Australia and Western Australia next week.

Mr Albanese, who will jet into Mount Isa on Friday after the Tamworth event, said the funds from the $5 billion Future Drought Fund will support a range of innovative research projects designed to equip farmers to handle a changing climate.

“This investment will build a long-term evidence base to accelerate the adoption of best practices across the agricultural sector,” he said.

“It will provide farmers with the confidence to invest in technologies and practices that have been proven across different landscapes and production conditions.”

Kennedy MP Bob Katter. Picture: Evan Morgan

Of the $38m, more than $4m will go to NQ Dry Tropic Limited to conduct trials at Charters Towers in Queensland of virtual fencing, which could enable rangeland graziers to implement drought-resistant systems over larger areas.

Mr Albanese will also tell the Tamworth Bush Summit that planning for the future in the farming sector is about ensuring the changes coming on the horizon can be turned into opportunities to “mitigate risks and become more resilient”.

“Reducing risk means being ready for the next fire, the next storm, the next drought,” he will say.

“It means reducing emissions – not just because that’s what supply chains are increasingly demanding, but also because it makes businesses more resilient over the long term. “

Mr Albanese will say Australian farmers are “ahead of the curve” on so many measures and the government is committed to furthering this through innovation.

After the event, Mr Albanese has been roped into attending the Mount Isa Rodeo with Member for Kennedy Bob Katter.

While it ain’t his first rodeo, it is the first one in Mount Isa that Mr Albanese has attended, with the show being the biggest of its kind in the southern hemisphere.

“It’s an Aussie institution that brings people together and I can’t imagine a better host than Bob Katter,” Mr Albanese said.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Martin Ollman

“Mount Isa is helping drive the Australian economy.

“This visit will be a terrific chance to thank locals making a positive difference to their community and to talk about how we’re working together to grow our economy and support our regions, so there are more jobs and more opportunities for more people in more parts of our vast country.”

Mr Katter warned Mr Albanese that “we can be a wild bloody mob”.

“There’s a lot of feeling about controversial issues. I hope no one brings them up, but I’ll be riding shotgun with him, anyway,” he said.

Mr Katter said he would be speaking to Mr Albanese about water needed for four vanadium mines along the Flinders River.

While the Labor Government scrapped funding for the Hells Gate dam, which Mr Katter has long campaigned for, Mr Katter said he was confident he could get support for the project from the Mr Albanese.

The pair will be joined by popular TV stars and rodeo aficionados Stacey and Mel Wilburn.

The 34-year-old twins announced their departure from popular TV show Travel Guides after seven years earlier this year and are set to compete in the roping. 

The sisters, who now live in Charters Towers, said their dad was from Mount Isa and had competed there since they were small.