Flood-Prone Burketown Airstrip Faces Uncertain Future Despite $27m Upgrade

A flood-prone airstrip in the Gulf of Carpentaria may need to be relocated to avoid future disasters, despite a recent multi-million-dollar upgrade, the local mayor says.

The community of Burketown, 420 kilometres north of Mount Isa, had been without a commercially functioning airstrip after a "biblical-style flood" engulfed the region in 2023. For the past nine months while construction was underway, the only way in or out of the region has been by bus on unreliable dirt roads.

The $27 million Queensland and federal government-funded upgrade raised the airstrip by 400 millimetres, and commercial flights are expected to resume in mid-November. Burke Shire Mayor Ernie Camp said he was "incredibly excited" to see the upgraded airstrip, owned and operated by the council, back up and running, but it should be moved to a more flood-resistant location.

"This essential asset supports the RFDS, Rex Airlines, local charter operators, general aviation and the glider pilots who visit each year," he said.

"[Regular Public Transport] services are the lifeblood for small communities, aircraft aren't getting any smaller, and the number of people travelling on them aren't either."

Although use of larger aircraft on Gulf routes could take years — meaning there is no immediate need for relocation — planning for future aviation trends in the next "10 or 15 years" was important, Cr Camp said.

"It certainly has been an eye-opener in the amount of human resources and heavy equipment to come here because we had to totally rebuild that airstrip," he said.

"The tarmac had been compromised from not only the 2023 flood, [but also] the previous flood; the clay has certainly degraded."

Cr Camp said he had raised concerns with some politicians, but their suggestion was to "work with what we've got".

Western Queensland Alliance of Councils (WQAC) Executive Director Greg Hoffman said while he was pleased to see the airstrip improved and reopened, the challenge in the Gulf was to ensure assets have longevity and were not severely impacted by further weather events.

"The biggest challenge we have these days is to build sufficient resilience to get ahead of the game, so we don't find ourselves in five, 10 years having to do it again," Mr Hoffman said.

"[WQAC] has been very … in our advocacy to the governments to say that there needs to be long-term plans that take into consideration these potential adverse impacts into the future."

Mr Hoffman said investing to improve asset resilience was essential.

"Particularly in the case of Burketown and Gulf communities, the importance of air services and airports," he said.

"In the context of the importance of aerodromes in flood-prone areas, [Cr Camp's] argument has got a lot of merit [but] sadly, it will probably require a disaster to prove the point that what's been done at the moment hasn't achieved the objective of being flood-proof."

The government launched a joint $119 million flood recovery package across northern and central Queensland after the 2023 monsoonal event. A spokesperson for Queensland Emergency Management Minister Ann Leahy said the Burketown Airstrip was a crucial public asset for residents, and it was unclear whether the federal government's proposed disaster funding cuts would have delivered this project.

A spokesperson for the Federal Minister for Emergency Management Kristy McBain said decisions around the future location of the Burketown airstrip were for local council to consider.

"Under the [Disaster Recovery Funding Arrangements], states and territories are responsible for determining whether a disaster is eligible for funding, and what type and level of assistance to make available to support recovery," the spokesperson said.