Project Charter¶

Status:	Draft
Source file:	`01 Scoping/01-project-charter.md`
Sensitivity review:	Completed

Project Purpose¶

The project will determine whether industrial hemp represents a commercially viable and environmentally beneficial opportunity for agricultural producers, regional communities and Granite Borders Landcare within the Granite Borders region.

The project is not intended to promote or oppose industrial hemp. It is intended to test claims, identify trade-offs and support a defensible decision.

Core Decision Question¶

Does industrial hemp represent a commercially viable and environmentally beneficial opportunity for agricultural producers and regional communities within the Granite Borders region?

Objectives¶

Define whether there is genuine, verifiable market demand for industrial hemp products.
Determine whether industrial hemp can be produced profitably within realistic Australian supply chains.
Assess whether industrial hemp is agronomically suitable for the Granite Borders region.
Assess whether industrial hemp provides meaningful environmental benefits compared with existing and realistic alternative land uses.
Determine what role, if any, Granite Borders Landcare should play.

Assessment Perspectives¶

Perspective	Primary decision question	Required treatment
Commercial Viability for Agricultural Producers	Would a reasonable producer in the Granite Borders region choose to grow industrial hemp?	Separate farm-gate economics, agronomic risk, opportunity cost and adoption barriers from broader industry claims.
Commercial Viability for Supply Chains	Can the industrial hemp industry operate sustainably beyond the farm gate?	Test processing capacity, buyer demand, quality specifications, logistics, market depth and pricing evidence.
Strategic Value for Granite Borders Landcare	Should Granite Borders Landcare invest time, resources or reputation in industrial hemp-related activities?	Assess fit with Landcare objectives, member value, reputational risk, extension role and partnership options.
Environmental Outcomes	Would increased industrial hemp production create net positive environmental outcomes compared with realistic alternatives?	Compare impacts against existing regional land uses and plausible substitutes rather than assessing hemp in isolation.

Scope¶

The project will assess industrial hemp in relation to:

Grain, fibre, hurd, biomass and other legally relevant industrial hemp product categories.
Agricultural production, processing, logistics, marketing and end markets.
Environmental outcomes including soil health, soil carbon, biodiversity, water use, water quality, chemical use, landscape resilience and greenhouse gas emissions.
The Granite Borders region, defined by Granite Borders Landcare as the current Tenterfield Shire in New South Wales and the historic Stanthorpe Shire area in Queensland prior to its amalgamation into Southern Downs Regional Council.
Supporting comparison geographies where required, including Southern Downs Regional Council, Granite Belt, Northern Tablelands, New England, Darling Downs, Border Rivers Catchment, New South Wales, Queensland and Australia.

Geographic Definition¶

For this project, the primary study area is:

Current Tenterfield Shire, NSW.
Historic Stanthorpe Shire, Queensland, as it existed before amalgamation into Southern Downs Regional Council.

Southern Downs Regional Council data may be used where Stanthorpe-specific data is unavailable, but it must be labelled as broader than the core Granite Borders region and assessed for transferability.

Out of Scope¶

Advocacy for or against industrial hemp.
Medical cannabis, recreational cannabis or illegal cannabis markets.
Final business case conclusions during Phase 1.
Substantial secondary research during Phase 1.
Primary research interviews during Phase 1.
Investment advice to individual producers.

Success Criteria¶

The project will succeed if a reasonable reviewer can understand what questions were asked, what evidence was used, which perspective each finding applies to, what evidence was weak or unavailable, what trade-offs remain and whether any role for Granite Borders Landcare is proportionate to the evidence.

Constraints¶

The Granite Borders region is an organisational geography rather than a single current statistical geography, so geographic fit must be assessed source by source.
Some market data may be commercial, unpublished or difficult to verify.
Industrial hemp product categories differ materially and must not be treated as one market.
Environmental benefits may depend on production system, rotation, irrigation, soil type, climate and alternative land use.
Supply chain viability may depend on minimum scale, consistent quality and local processing access.

Phase Deliverables¶

Project charter.
Question hierarchy.
Assumptions register.
Data requirements register.
Stakeholder map.
Primary research plan.
Secondary research plan.
Source priority register.
Analysis framework.
Business case structure.
Phase 1 gaps and risks review.
Phase 1 summary report.

Key Risks¶

Risk	Affected perspectives	Mitigation
Treating hemp as a single undifferentiated industry	Producer, Supply Chain, Environment	Separate evidence by product category and production system.
Accepting industry or advocacy claims without verification	All	Require traceable evidence and classify source strength.
Over-relying on non-local evidence	Producer, Environment	Record geography and transferability assumptions for every source.
Confusing buyer interest with bankable demand	Producer, Supply Chain	Prioritise evidence of prices, volumes, specifications and purchase commitments.
Assessing environmental benefits without a comparator	Environment, GBLC	Require comparison with realistic regional alternatives.
Reputational exposure for Granite Borders Landcare	GBLC	Separate education, facilitation, demonstration and advocacy options.

Decision Gates¶

Gate	Purpose	Minimum requirement
Phase 1 to Phase 2	Confirm research design is ready for secondary research	Questions, data needs, source priorities and risk controls are documented.
Phase 2 to Phase 3	Confirm evidence gaps requiring primary research	Evidence register identifies unresolved claims and interview priorities.
Phase 3 to Phase 4	Confirm primary evidence is sufficient for analysis	Interview notes and evidence updates are complete enough to test assumptions.
Phase 4 to Phase 5	Confirm analysis is ready for business case drafting	Perspective-specific findings, trade-offs and confidence levels are documented.