Return to Index

Issue 27 - December 2003

Regional Process Support

Community representatives at the recent combined meetings in Longreach were unanimous about two things: maintaining independence and identity through incorporation; and throwing their full support behind the regional process.

The joint meeting of the Lake Eyre Basin Coordinating Group and the catchment committees for the Georgina Diamantina and Cooper Creek was held in Longreach on 20th November. Around 50 members and observers participated in a discussion that was at times robust, at times emotional. There were no dissenters, however, when it came to the final decision: their Lake Eyre Basin process will remain. It will provide the catchment committees with umbrella incorporation, maintain a single, basin-wide view, and be at the ready to make the most of possible corporate, philanthropic or non-NHT2 government funding.

There was no dissent either on the regional natural resource management funding delivery process.

“We need to put our full support behind the state-based regional process and make sure it delivers on the ground,” said Coordinating Group Chair, David Lord.

“It’s up to us to make it work, and we can make it work.

“The goodwill and commitment is there in the community, the government and the regional bodies. People are tired of being paralysed by uncertainty; they’re excited about getting back to the purpose of it all; of working together and getting things done.”

The state-based regional process is a result of the change in the way NHT money is invested at ground level; a cross-border entity like the Lake Eyre Basin Coordinating Group is not eligible for core funding through this process.

From the Chair

Our Lake Eyre Basin process has reached a new level of maturity.

In the absence of ongoing funding it would have been so easy to call it a day and leave the job to others. But at the combined community meeting in Longreach on 20th of November the community unanimously resolved to continue; we will retain our incorporation and remain in place. There were no dissenters and the decision was widely supported by the community and from those outside the Basin.

This shows that, not only does the widespread support for our process remain, we have moved on to a new chapter, and are prepared to stand on our own feet, not necessarily reliant on government funding. We have the strength of our convictions, as always, to maintain our leadership role within the Lake Eyre Basin. The resolution, made so many years ago, to be masters of our own destiny and take responsibility for the sustainable management of our region is still strong.

The maintenance of our incorporation gives us the capability to seek corporate or philanthropic sponsorship along with government funding (other than NHT 2) for projects.

At the combined meeting the decision was taken to change our name to Lake Eyre Basin Catchments; this reflects where our membership and legitimacy comes from. This is a name change only, our incorporation remains the same, our community owned and driven process remains the same.

I look forward to a close and productive relationship with the various state-based regional bodies across the Basin along with the reformed Community Advisory Committee to the Lake Eyre Basin Ministerial Forum. Each has its own specific area of responsibility but, together, we can maintain community empowerment and take community-driven natural resource management to a new level.

For the Cooper’s Creek and the Georgian Diamantina catchment committees it is business as usual; the only difference to their daily operation being the transition of the coordinators to Desert Channels Queensland (DCQ). The balance of our staff will also transition to DCQ as we no longer have the funding to pay them. We wish them well and appreciated their efforts on behalf of the LEB community.

At the November gathering we also bade farewell to Trevor Whitelaw from the Georgina Diamantina Catchment Committee and the Coordinating Group. Trevor has been a tireless member and advocate of our process for many years but the pressure of work has meant he has had to scale down his involvement; he will, however, remain a member of the Cooper’s Creek Catchment Committee.

Drought continues to be on everyone’s lips, I sincerely hope that the situation changes with big storms over the summer months – and into the winter.

A very happy and safe Christmas to all.

Regards

David Lord

Eyes of the World

“The eyes of the world are on us,” says Lake Eyre Basin Coordinating Group Chair, David Lord.

“They are watching us because of our inclusive process and responsible approach to natural resource management,” he says.

According to David Lord, the LEB process is a role model for community engagement in responsible rangelands management because it embraces a broad range of stakeholders (community, science, industry and government) and deals with all issues of land management from grazing pressure and water management to tourism and research.

“We’re not hobbled by state borders or parochial interests in either our geographic scope or the range of issues we deal with,” he says.

This community designed, owned and driven process that has built identity, capacity, networks and unity over the past 8 years was seen by the community, at the joint meeting in Longreach on 20th November, as too valuable and too vital to discard.

It was an unambiguous outcome; there were no dissenters.

The name will change to Lake Eyre Basin Catchments (LEBC) but the entity remains and will continue to provide leadership and pursue community aspirations. It will work to maintain cohesion and the all-important, grass-roots, community-based whole-of-basin perspective rather than rely solely on intergovernmental agreements, memoranda of understanding, cross-border goodwill and joint funding.

Representatives from the catchment committees will continue to provide the membership and as these same individuals also sit on the board of Desert Channels Queensland (DCQ), the executive of the LEBC will be able to meet on the back of DCQ meetings at no cost to anyone. There will be no additional members in the short term because it was felt necessary to have no overheads other than the fees to maintain incorporation. Community members have offered to dip into their own pockets to cover this cost.

Through common membership on various bodies, the LEBC is perfectly positioned to value-add to the regional process by ensuring the channels of communication and dialogue to facilitate cross-border cooperation.

By retaining the umbrella incorporation, Lake Eyre Basin Catchments retains the ability to seek corporate and philanthropic funds as well as non-NHT2 government funds.

Importantly, the LEBC will remain as a contact point for enquiries and knowledge broking and will continue to plug researchers, academics, students, governments, and others into comprehensive, far-reaching networks. The current contact details (see below) will transition to Desert Channels Queensland but will remain valid for any Lake Eyre Basin information-related enquiries.

Current Executive members remain keen for people to contact them on any matters relating to the Lake Eyre Basin process and its work (see below).

(all enquiry contact details will remain the same)

New CAC

The Community Advisory Committee (CAC) to the Lake Eyre Basin Ministerial Forum has been reformed. The CAC was initially formed after the signing of the Lake Eyre Basin Intergovernmental Agreement in October 2000 and had as its core, the Lake Eyre Basin Coordinating Group. Towards the end of 2002 the LEBCG downsized because of funding constraints; it then no longer had the broad representation to fulfil the role so the CAC was dissolved.

Nominations for the new CAC were taken from a range of organisations and broad interest groups across the Agreement area which covers the South Australian and Queensland portions of the Georgina Diamantina and Cooper catchments. The 13 Ministerially appointed representatives came together in Longreach on Friday 21st November for their first meeting. These members, where they’re from, the interest groups they represent, and their phone numbers are shown in the accompanying table.

The purpose of the CAC is to provide, direct to the Ministers of the Lake Eyre Basin Ministerial Forum, broad-based community advice in relation to water and related natural resource issues in the Lake Eyre Basin, with particular regard to potential impacts that extend across state borders. The brief of the CAC is very much to maintain a whole-of-basin perspective on water and related natural resource issues. The CAC is also responsible for articulating Ministerial strategies and policies that deal with these issues, back to the community.

To assist the CAC in its role, the Commonwealth has appointed a Facilitator, Mr Vol Norris (see profile below). From his base in Longreach he will support and work closely with the CAC to help it achieve its purpose effectively. This will include arranging and preparing for CAC meetings, compiling material to be communicated from the CAC to both the Ministerial Forum and the various stakeholders in the community, and passing on information and material to the CAC from Ministers and community stakeholders. Central to this will be developing and maintaining close links with the wide variety of groups, including catchment groups, regional NRM planning groups and others, from throughout the Basin.

How does it fit Together?

The Lake Eyre Basin Intergovernmental Agreement is a Ministerial level agreement between the Commonwealth, South Australia and Queensland to work cooperatively on water and related cross-border natural resource management issues in the Queensland and South Australian portions of the Cooper Creek and Georgina Diamantina catchments. Both New South Wales and the Northern Territory have been invited to join the Agreement; this would make it a whole-of-basin process. Two key components of the Agreement were the formation of the Lake Eyre Basin Ministerial Forum (Federal Environment Minister and his South Australian and Queensland counterparts) (LEBMF) and its Community Advisory Committee (CAC).

Profile (Vol Norris)

Vol Norris has recently taken up the Longreach-based position of Facilitator for the reformed Lake Eyre Basin Community Advisory Committee.

Originally from Sydney, Vol completed tertiary studies at the University of New England and Griffith University before a three year stint as Research Officer with the Centre for Water Policy Research in Armidale. He got a taste for the Top End with 6 years as an Environmental Officer for the Department of Mines and Energy in Darwin before heading south to environmental management consultancy in Adelaide. Since 1999 Vol has worked for the remote Aboriginal community of Kowanyama on the western side of Cape York where he managed the Aboriginal Land and Natural Resource Management Office for the Kowanyama Aboriginal Council.

Vol enjoys reading, cycling, bushwalking and raising kids with his wife, Robyn. He says he was attracted to his new position because he is interested in working with diverse stakeholders and finding common ground with Governments. He comes with great hopes of learning as much as possible about the people, communities and environments throughout the Lake Eyre Basin, to enjoy living in a town with a shopping centre and a big pool, and to be close to a mainstream school for his three kids.

Climate Partnership

With much of the Lake Eyre Basin sitting firmly on the rump of the worst drought anyone can remember, it is not surprising to get a visit from a climate researcher. Peat Leith, a Doctoral Candidate from the University of Tasmania, is different. This human geographer with a climatological background is not pondering climate itself, but how graziers deal with some of the most variable climatic conditions on the planet, and how they make management decisions in relation to this variability.

He recently spent six weeks in the Longreach area interviewing graziers on how they used climate information (formal and anecdotal) and the decision-making support they needed in the area of managing for climate.

“I’m investigating how people manage for the big swings between wet times and dry times, and the rarely experienced ‘average’ times,” says the Tasmanian.

“As well as interviewing graziers in three regions of semi-arid Queensland and New South Wales, I’m talking to those involved in developing and extending scientific climate information and outlooks. Hopefully my research will result in recommendations that will help tailor climate information to local needs and management contexts.”

Climate outlooks in Australia are mostly based on historical relationships. Specifically, the Southern Oscillation Index (SOI) and Sea Surface Temperatures (SSTs) in the Pacific and Indian Oceans have demonstrated a close relationship with rainfall in parts of Australia at particular times. Such outlooks are best regarded not as forecasts but as risk management tools. For instance, in an El Niño event the SOI is consistently negative and SSTs in the Western Equatorial Pacific Ocean are consistently lower than average. This pattern has happened numerous times in the historical record and often, though not always, has been associated with drought conditions in large parts of Australia.

Because they are based on historical relationships, climate outlooks are given as probabilities, usually of receiving ‘more than’ or ‘less than’ median rainfall for a given period. These probabilities reflect what has happened in the past. For example, for a given place and time, a 30% chance of above median rainfall means that historically, under similar SOI (or SST) conditions, 70% of the time a less than median rainfall was received and 30% of the time there was greater than median rainfall.

Basing an outlook on what has happened in the past requires confidence that past patterns will hold into the future. As climate scientists around the world increasingly accept that the trend towards higher temperatures can be attributed to the enhanced greenhouse effect, questions have been asked as to how El Niño Southern Oscillation (ENSO) is affected by global warming. The jury is still out on this. Different climate models report different findings and palaeoclimatic records are inconclusive. The likelihood though, is that ENSO signals will continue to send an important message about Australia’s seasonal rainfall.

Whatever the impact of global warming on ENSO, the need is apparent to improve models that don’t rely on historical relationships but rather rest on the physical processes that drive ENSO and related climate variability.

Recent research by Neville Nicholls of the Bureau of Meteorology’s Research Centre indicates that the trend towards higher temperatures, which is usually associated with global warming, contributed to making the 2002-2003 drought the hottest on record. Nicholls concluded that: ‘if this warming trend of the past 50 years continues, as climate model integrations with an enhanced greenhouse effect suggest, we can expect that droughts will continue to be associated with ever increasing records of mean daily maximum temperatures and evaporation. Unless these are accompanied by an increase in rainfall, we can surmise, therefore, that the droughts will inexorably intensify along with their impacts.’

With this gloomy message in mind, the need to redouble efforts to manage for climate variability, and drought in particular, seems more urgent than ever. Scientists and policy-makers at all levels would be wise to take heed of the working knowledge of managing climate variability that exists in rural areas where generations have endured droughts and learnt many lessons. Likewise, people on the ground can assist in the development of both applicable science and workable policy.

“Such a collaborative approach is much easier suggested than accomplished,” says Peat Leith, “but I believe that there are heartening signs that scientists are increasingly valuing the knowledge of people on the ground, and vice versa.

“These changing lines of communication, trust and respect in relation to climate science and knowledge of managing for climate variability are critical aspects of my research. I hope my findings can be of some benefit in understanding and improving the ways droughts can be managed in the future.”

If you would like further information, feel free to contact Peat at Peat.Leith@utas.edu.au

Draft Water Plan

The Georgina Diamantina catchment draft Water Resource Plan was released in early November by Queensland Natural Resources Minister Stephen Robertson.

“The Georgina and Diamantina are among the few remaining wild or untamed rivers in Australia and form part of the internationally significant Lake Eyre Basin,” Mr Robertson said.

“This draft plan represents a major step towards implementing a sustainable management framework for the water resources in these catchments which straddle Queensland’s borders with South Australia and the Northern Territory.”

Mr Robertson said water is fundamental to the lives of all Queenslanders - no more so than in the State’s arid zone, west of the Great Dividing Range, where scarce and sporadic rainfall present a particular challenge.

“With the wellbeing of western communities intrinsically linked with such a cyclical and extreme climate, catchment-wide planning for water resource sustainability is paramount,” he said.

“When finalised, the plan will enable the community and government to meet the challenge of making adequate provision of water for all interests, including current and future agricultural, urban and industrial uses, as well as the rivers’ environmental needs,” he said.

Mr Robertson said the draft plan complied with the Lake Eyre Basin Intergovernmental Agreement in that it protected the basin’s ecologically significant river flows and sites.

“The Georgina and Diamantina catchments contain important wetlands and vast uncultivated floodplains that are of the special value to Queenslanders and all Australians

“At the same time, the plan will provide opportunities for small-scale expansion and diversification of local industries such as grazing, tourism and mining, he said.

An existing moratorium on new water developments and diversions in the plan area will remain in force until implementation of the final plan.

The release of the draft water resource plan coincided with an announcement by Department of Natural Resources and Mines’ chief executive, Mr Terry Hogan, of his intention to prepare a resource operations plan (ROP) for the Georgina and Diamantina catchments.

The ROP will specify how any additional water made available under the final water resource plan will be allocated.

Mr Robertson said the Beattie Government was committed to broad community consultation about the proposals outlined in the Georgina and Diamantina draft water resource plan.

Stakeholders have until 5 March 2004 to lodge written submissions with the Department of Natural Resources and Mines.

“I am encouraging all members of the community and other stakeholders to read and comment on the water allocation and management options contained in the draft plan, prior to it being finalised,” he said.

Copies of the draft plan and associated documents are available on the Internet at http://www.nrm.qld.gov.au/wrp/georgina_diamantina.html or by contacting your local DNR&M office.

Partnership Produces

In a prime example of the way results can be achieved through partnerships, South Australian Premier, Mike Rann and Environment and Conservation Minister, John Hill have announced the creation of a new national park covering the most environmentally significant part of the Ramsar listed Coongie Lakes.

“You only have to see this wetland to recognise that it needs our long-term protection,” said Mike Rann.

The announcement, made at Innamincka in July, was the culmination of several years of negotiations by the various interest groups and proof that the partnership approach delivers. Pastoral company, S Kidman &Co., Santos and the Conservation Council have worked together to ensure that 27,900 hectares of this internationally significant wetland is protected as a national park where all grazing and mining activity is excluded.

A further 87,740 hectare buffer zone will exclude mining and petroleum access but allow pastoral activity.

“We recognise that we have a community responsibility to protect this important wildlife habitat and refuge,” said Santos’ Managing Director, John Ellice-Flint. I’m particularly proud of the way our employees and contractors have operated in this area. Because of this, the values and beauty of the area remain.”

Conservation Council CEO, Simon Divecha said, “It is hard to overstate the biological and conservation significance of Coongie Lakes.”

Profile (Larissa Cordner)

Victorian-born Larissa Cordner is the new Conservation representative on the Cooper’s Creek Catchment Committee.

Larissa came to Queensland’s Gold Coast as a six year old but was never enamoured of the burgeoning high-rises; she longed instead, for her favoured bush camping spots of the south. After leaving school, she completed degrees in Science and Environmental Science before travelling the world for a year.

For part of her year away Larissa did several months of voluntary work for the David Suzuki Foundation in Canada. The Suzuki philosophy appealed to her nature and cemented her desire to work for a non-government environment group in Australia.

Larissa became involved with The Wilderness Society on her return and has been with them for just on 4 years. She now works full-time on the Wild Rivers campaign which focuses on wild and natural rivers within Queensland which have no impoundments and little change since European Settlement. Larissa says she feels very fortunate to live in a state that has so many rivers still in good shape and that have not been put through the same degrading processors as many of the southern rivers. This is what led her to join the Cooper’s Creek Catchment Committee where she hopes to bring a broad conservation perspective focused on rivers and the importance of maintaining these systems.

Heritage Tourism Final Report

After two and a half years and more kilometres by road, train, camel, boat, air and foot than I care to recall, the first comprehensive evaluation of heritage tourism in the Lake Eyre Basin is coming to a conclusion. The last five months have been spent writing up just a portion of the huge amount of information gathered and processed. Like the vastness and diversity of the Basin it has been a long but always interesting journey.

Hopefully the end report, ‘Lake Eyre Basin Heritage Tourism – Future Directions’ will have something of interest and worth to most of you and will help set the guidelines for tourism to follow a sustainable and valued path in the Basin. It will be available on the Lake Eyre Basin website in the New Year and on CD.

The most productive outcomes of this Project are the ongoing interaction with the many different people and organizations, raising awareness about tourism, building networks, exchanging information and contributing directly to the many tourism initiatives and management processes already going on in the Basin. Being able to undertake this project on a Basin-wide scale has been invaluable; it has added new insights and understanding to the complex tourism dynamics that are evolving in the region. These would not have been apparent on a more localised scale and it is, therefore, important for the future to retain a capacity that transcends the State and Territory borders and organisational boundaries.

My thanks and gratitude to the many people of the Basin, and those outside, with passion and interest in its future and well-being, who have contributed in many ways to this Project. The landscape and rich heritage assets make an indelible impression but none more so than the people, who are its distinguishing fabric.

There is still some work to be done to engage with different stakeholders, partners, funders and supporters to look at how best to implement some of the priority recommendations and findings from this work. All going well, this will happen early in 2004 and the hard work and ideas gathered will be used in meeting the growing challenges and opportunities tourism presents.

I wish you all the best for the coming year and hope it is a productive and successful one.

Joc Schmiechen

Heritage Tourism Coordinator

Profile (Craig Magnussen)

Craig Magnussen was born in Gympie and, as the son of a Detective, got to see a lot of Queensland. He graduated from university with an Associate Diploma in Wilderness Reserves & Wildlife. This led him, quite naturally, to the bush where he worked with the then Lands Department on SWEEP (Strategic Weed Eradication & Education Program). He tackled the eradication of prickly acacia, parkinsonia, rubber vine and Siam weed before moving to Longreach as Land Protection Officer with Department of Natural Resources and Mines.

Most of Craig’s time is taken up with coordinating the Shire Rural Land Officers Group, working with local governments to manage pests and stock routes, along with a bit of baiting and spraying here and there.

His job has seen him travel extensively through western Queensland where he has made heaps of contacts and friends which, along with the good social life, some great country and hobbies such as fishing, camping and travelling, contribute to his fondness for the area.

Craig is the new Queensland Government representative on the Cooper’s Creek Catchment Committee.

Colin Tidswell Talks Country

The Lake Eyre Basin is full of very unique and special places: some because of the great scenery, some for the wildlife, and some for the great people and characters who live there. I couldn’t hope to choose one above the other, but I do recall a dreamy morning spent on the Georgina River near Urandangi.

I had slept in my swag under the canvas of a crisp winter sky, with stars so bright I swear I could have touched them, and warmed by the glow of a fire of gidgee coals (and a few rums from the Urandangi pub).

I woke early to be greeted by the streaks of pink and purple splashes of a piccaninny dawn across the black night sky, the curlew’s calls eerily echoing in the distance. I rolled my swag, put my quart pot on and sat watching the spectacle of the new day being born.

The sky slowly brightened in the east to a dimly lit blue, streaked with long splashes of orange as the orb of sun edged above the horizon. With the sun came the birds, particularly the budgies that seemly all woke at once to screech and rise in vast wheeling flocks, their green and yellow reflected in the white Georgina water.

As the light grew stronger I noticed at my feet a small piece of steel half buried in the dirt. I squatted and dug it out with my pocketknife. It was a buckle, very old, the tongue bent, the type you would use on a bridle. I smiled, I bet it had a story to tell. I was obviously not the first to camp in this spot, watching the waking day.

I noticed another piece of rusted metal a few feet away and rose to pick it up. There was yet another piece further on, and another. In the early morning light I found myself walking the bank of the river pausing now and then to pick up or study another find.

About an hour later I made it back to camp, my cupped hands overflowing with bits and pieces. I kicked the fire back to life and again boiled my quart pot. With a fresh mug of hot tea, I sat in the now warm morning sun to study my finds. Several bent bridle buckles, a large packsaddle ring, pieces of a saddletree, two old bridle bits, a collection of Aboriginal stone chippings and a few unidentifiable scraps of steel.

Yes, this river has supported so many, and so much for so long and still does. I thought of the Aboriginal kids in Urandangi telling me only yesterday of their fishing exploits on the river. Of the cattle industry this river still supports and of the Urandangi publican promoting the fishing with the tourists.

I suppose it was there and then that I really realised what we are all working for in the Lake Eyre Basin Coordinating Group: for the past, the present and most of all the future. I would love to think that my grand kids could come and camp on that river as I had just done and find it as I did.

When I packed up and left that camp I left the small pile of artefacts on the ground; they seemed to tell a story of the river; they should stay there.