Australia: Thousands of cattle feared lost in north west floods

Queensland flood damage goes much further than structural, with more than 50,000 cattle lost. (PR HANDOUT IMAGE PHOTO) An estimated 50,000 head of cattle have died in far north west Queensland as the cleanup from major flooding begins. Communities were left unable to return to their homes in two flooded areas of the Gulf of Carpentaria after late monsoon rains created a vast inland sea earlier this month. Federal and state ministers have since visited the Gulf and conducted damage assessments with the figure estimated in the hundreds of millions of dollars. Katter's Australian Party MPs Bob and Robbie Katter joined Queensland Agriculture Minister Mark Furner, and federal Minister for Agriculture and Emergency Management Senator Murray Watt. Federal Income support mechanisms were rolled out under the Australian Government Disaster Recovery Payment, with people eligible for up to 13 weeks of income support. But the damage goes much further than structural and livelihoods with ...