Dear District Governor David

 

I am writing to you as District Governor of District 9570, Australia.  Our District is located in Central Queensland and is 600,000 square kilometres in area.  To put this in perspective, it is approximately twice the size of Germany or almost the size of Texas, USA.  Since 2012 a large part of the District has been drought declared.  As we start 2020, our entire district is drought declared.  The drought has resulted in diminished crop growth and carrying capacity for livestock.   Apart from the environmental damage and cattle dying, water quality continues to decline.  The human cost includes financial loss and mental health issues, particularly suicide and depression.