Parkes Shire Council, in partnership with Forbes and Lachlan Shire Councils, has successfully secured funding under the Regional Drought Resilience Planning Program, jointly funded by the Australian Government's Future Drought Fund and the NSW Government.
The consortium of three Councils delivered the Drought Resilience Plan for the region, which has been endorsed by the Australian Government to proceed to the implementation stage.
The Plan is available online via the Australian Government website: Parkes, Forbes and Lachlan Regional Drought Resilience Plan
The Program requires councils to work at a regional scale to think about drought resilience beyond water security, considering environmental and social resilience needs. The plan for Parkes, Forbes and Lachlan Shires was developed through stakeholder engagement across the region.
The second stage of the program, the implementation stage, focuses on delivering key projects identified in the Plan. To meet the grant requirements, a number of plans and strategies relevant to all three LGAs were identified and submitted for consideration as part of the application process.
The grant has now been approved for the Implementation Phase and one of the required spends was to recruit an officer to coordinate delivery of the projects across the region.
The following projects are well underway to be complete by the funding body deadline of November 2025:
- Urban Heat Mapping
This project will use tree canopy data, aerial imaging, and heat mapping to identify priority areas across the three LGAs for future urban greening and cooling measures that will help protect communities in times of drought.
- Drought Asset and Action Plans
Each Council will develop a plan identifying public assets that serve as community gathering spaces during drought. These plans will also address facility and equipment upgrades, prioritise rainwater-reliant localities, and identify public shower and laundry access points, along with green respite spaces.
- Drought Management Plan for Key Recreational Water Bodies
This project will focus on key water bodies across the region, outlining current recreational uses and water management challenges, and setting resilience and adaptation objectives to maintain or improve these conditions during drought.
- Drought Operational Plan for Forbes Livestock Exchange
Recognising the importance of the Exchange to all three LGAs during extended drought periods, this plan will guide operations and potential upgrades to better support drought-affected stock movements.
The Minister for Regional NSW Tara Moriarty said the Regional Drought Resilience Planning Program acknowledges that each region in NSW is different and requires its own approach to have a real impact.
"We know drought is challenging, so we want our communities to be prepared and ready to act with plans in place," Ms Moriarty said.
"Having community-led Regional Drought Resilience Plans, that take into account each region's unique needs, is allowing these communities to build meaningful plans that will make a big difference."
Parkes Shire Council's Manager of Environment and Sustainability, Michael Chambers, welcomed the funding.
"This funding will allow Parkes, Forbes and Lachlan Shire Councils to more readily implement actions and programs to help our communities during times of drought, while assisting us to build capacity to plan and act early to reduce, manage and respond to drought-related risks."
