Legal feature: Irrigation in the Gulf Country 'food bowl': An overview of the issues

In recent years, a big issue in plans for developing regional and rural Australia has been increasing efforts to develop an irrigated 'food bowl' in northern Queensland's Gulf Country, the vast expanse of wilderness and cattle country that lies to the north of Mount Isa and Hughenden and borders the Gulf of Carpentaria. In a major step, the Queensland Government announced in July 2012 that it would make available, through tender, unallocated water entitlements in two major catchments flowing into the Gulf.