Michelle Landry (Capricornia, National Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I am forever telling this House about the diverseness of the electorate of Capricornia in central Queensland and the innovation of its people. I would like to highlight some groundbreaking research being conducted by my local university, CQUniversity, in the area of dryland rice cropping. CQUniversity, together with Australian Agricultural Technology Ltd, have been conducting field trials of dryland rice genotypes near Rockhampton. These genotypes are showing commercial potential for growing dryland rice varieties in central and northern Queensland during the wet season.

Both parties have agreed to expand their research and involve more growers in coming seasons. The view is to have the research and development in place to make dryland rice-growing commercially viable. This is an area of huge importance for drought prone Australia as we seek to develop northern Australia as the nation's next food bowl. It is also important for the entire Asia-Pacific region, as pressures on population and food security increase.

CQUniversity has a renowned strength in agricultural research. In fact, it was Queensland's only university to receive the top ranking of five in the Commonwealth Excellence in Research for Australia rankings. This indicates their research in this field is well above world standard. I commend CQUniversity for its engagement with industry to help unlock the potential of central Queensland. I applaud the innovative local researchers who have been working on this project.