Mango growers angered over 'discriminatory' disaster funding allocation

Severe weather hit the Atherton Tablelands in December 2023, when Ex-Tropical Cyclone Jasper made landfall and crossed the Cape York Peninsular.

The cyclone hit during mango growers' peak season of harvest, causing millions of dollars in fruit damage, infrastructure damage, erosion and substantially increased costs.

Mareeba grower Debbie Nucifora from Deb's Gold Mangoes said she had calculated $1million in losses from the event and government financial support was a mere drop in the ocean.

"I did a conservative calculation of the loss we faced and we lost a million dollars," Ms Nucifora said.

"We lost a few trees, but we had severe erosion damage. It was deeper than I stand, about two metres deep, by 10 metres long and five metres wide and this stopped us from accessing most of our Kensington Pride crop.

"We watched the mangoes dropped on the ground, mangoes had marks on them from the rain which downgraded them and they were no longer suitable to sell to supermarkets.

"(When looking for support) initially we could access the $10,000 grant through QRIDA... and the Queensland government disaster funding provided assistance of up to $75,000.

"But we had to spend that money to get it back. I have put in several claims, but we have spent well-over $75,000, but there is nothing else we can apply for."

Ms Nucifora said she felt growers and producers had been discriminated against, as they were capped at $75,000 while the tourism industry was eligible for significantly more.

"The tourism industry is eligible for up to $500,000 and they don't have to spend the money to be eligible for it, which I think is such discrimination," she said.

"They are employing people, they help with the economy. But the horticulture industry does the exact same thing and we also put food on everyone's table. But what are we allowed? We have to spend the money to be eligible for the $75,000, whereas the tourism industry is not like that at all.

"I understand everyone had suffered from it. But... do you even care who is feeding Australia and exporting as well or is it only the tourism industry that you care about?"

Australian Mango Industry Association chief executive officer Trevor Dunmall said current funding fell short of that was required.

"While we appreciate the government's efforts, the assistance package falls short of addressing the specific needs of our growers and does not cover major costs such as loss of crop and income, which are critical for our growers' survival," Mr Dunmall said.

"The mango industry, which represents a substantial part of the horticultural sector in Far North Queensland, is still awaiting a satisfactory response from the state government regarding the noted disparities in disaster funding.

"It's crucial that the government revisits and revises the support measures and addresses the failings of the current scheme. These issues need to be fixed and backdated so the growers currently suffering the most can be assisted now. Waiting to address these issues to some future date, if ever is just not good enough. Our industry's resilience is at stake, along with the mental health of our growers."

"It was a horror season for growers in general but in particular mango growers... this was one of the worst seasons on record.

"As an industry we are grateful for the government assistance so far but the inequality and lack of fairness in the other sectors are getting more than we are but we are hurting just as much as they are."

Ms Nucifora said there were still parts of her property that she could not access.

"Now most of the ground has dried in the last week or so we have been able to access most of the farm, but there are still parts that are too wet.

"In the 34 years that my husband and I have been farming mangoes here, we have never seen anything like this season."

Currently, 60 per cent of mango growers in the region are seeking recovery funding from QRIDA, with a significant amount already invested in the region for essential repairs and recovery efforts.

A Queensland Reconstruction Authority spokesperson said all exceptional circumstances funding packages developed through joint Commonwealth-state Disaster Recovery Funding Arrangements were done so in consultation with relevant stakeholders, including councils, industry and business groups.

"These DRFA packages aim to address the unique and localised needs of impacted communities following significant disaster events," the spokesperson said.

"In the case of the Tourism Exceptional Assistance Grants, these recipients were unable to trade for at least 14 days over the busiest tourism period on the calendar.

"Eligible primary producers in the Tablelands and other impacted, eligible areas of Far North Queensland can access a range of support measures to assist with their recovery, including: