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It is now ten years on from the genesis of the Lake Eyre Basin process. Six people, who were involved from the very early days tell us here, what they see as the major achievements of the process to date.
Professor Peter Cullen – Freshwater Ecologist, Canberra.
“When I started with the Lake Eyre Basin community almost a decade ago there was a great suspicion of governments; a wish that the world would just go away.
We’ve come through periods with the proposals for World Heritage listing and irrigation on the Cooper, and the community has come together. It’s addressed those issues, it’s developed plans, and it’s now gone into the more specifics of the various catchment plans. We’ve seen a tremendous build-up of the community’s capacity to listen to each other, to listen to the up-stream / down-stream differences and try to find appropriate ways forward that are fair to everyone.
The most exciting thing has been the growth of the capacity in the community, and in particular individuals who’ve been providing leadership over that time, to really work in a catchment context. I think it’s been tremendously successful.”
Sharon Oldfield – Pastoralist, Birdsville Track.
“We had people from three states and the Territory coming together, gaining an awareness of the issues from one end of the catchments to the other, and working together, toward a common goal.
Some of those old barriers and suspicions have gone. There has been an awakening by the scientific community that local people have a high level of information and knowledge about their country, and the local community recognises the benefit of sharing information and knowledge.
The Basin is now firmly on both the State and Federal agendas. We have a greatly increased awareness of, and knowledge about, our natural systems, what drives them, how they work, but more needs to be done on the social side of things.”
David Lord – Pastoralist, Broken Hill.
“A few of the great things to come out of the last ten years are the networks within the community and the continued commitment and support to manage our resources sustainably.
We have the Coordinating Group as the vehicle for the community to tackle the bigger picture issues.
It needed a major threat (World Heritage listing) to galvanise the community into action, to galvanise them into being more proactive in natural resource management.
There has been great support for the process from individuals, companies and governments, and that support remains.”
Bernice Cohen – Senior Policy Officer, SA Dept of Water, Land and Biodiversity Conservation.
“People now have a better understanding of the needs of whole catchments and of the connections between the natural resources and people in one part of the catchment with those in other parts of the catchment.
There are strong connections and good working relationships between people across various sectors – industries, local communities, government officers and scientists. The staff of the Lake Eyre Basin community initiative have played a significant role in bringing people together, and in promoting knowledge and awareness raising.
There is a greater recognition within the Basin that you can achieve so much more in partnership – as reflected in the community’s planning processes, and coordination of its weed and feral animal programs.
The community initiative has laid the foundations for cooperation and a joint approach between the new regional bodies to deliver programs for the benefit of the Basin.”
Peter Douglas – Pastoralist, Jundah.
“The most significant thing to come out of the Lake Eyre Basin process has been awareness. Everyone is more aware of the region and its capabilities now than they were in 1993, especially governments and the wider Australian community.
The community of the Basin is also more aware of their own region and their own influence. Through the Lake Eyre Basin process, they now have organisation (strong catchment committees and regional communities) and representation. They also now have some political clout and a voice with government.
Another important area is sustainability. The process has promoted increased interest in sustainable production as the future of the Basin and there is now a markedly increased level of awareness of this, and participation, in a formal sense, by most people in the catchment.”
Kate Andrews – Policy and Business Development Manager, Greening Australia.
“The Lake Eyre Basin process provides a role model for what can be achieved when people decide to manage change rather than be victims of it – it’s extraordinary what ‘ordinary’ people can achieve with their passion, commitment and intelligence. They showed that a diversity of people can overcome huge challenges such as marked differences of opinion and vast distances, to design, create and run a community natural resource management organisation.
They established and connected community and government processes so that each could influence and learn from the other. In some instances this meant the people on the ground leading the government, particularly in regards to working across political and administrative boundaries, which are meaningless to rivers, feral animals and the like.
The Lake Eyre Basin process encouraged people to think of themselves as part of a wider landscape and diverse community, and with this came increased responsibility to the land and other people. We learnt more about listening, particularly to those with whom we disagree.
To me it is a remarkable achievement that community members (volunteers) have been willing to continue to work so hard to maintain the Lake Eyre Basin process in times of uncertainty. This shows strong ownership and enviable individual and group capacity. If that were the only achievement it would be enough.”
Due to budgetary constraints, the Coordinating Group has not yet had a dedicated meeting this year. We were able to piggy-back a short meeting onto the last Desert Channels Queensland meeting at Longreach in early May (all Group members apart from myself sit on the Queensland regional body).
It was a good opportunity to say farewell to our long-time Office Manager, Alison Bell. Her contribution to the Basin has been huge; we will all miss her bright, cheery voice on the phone and also her dedication and commitment.
We also got to know our two new staff members, Colleen Searles (Officer Manager) and Shaaron Stevenson (Georgina Diamantina Coordinator) and to personally thank Nora Brandli (Cooper’s Creek Coordinator) and Mark Kleinschmidt (Communications Officer) for continuing to carry the extra workload they have over the last 6 months.
Thanks to the generous support provided by Federal Environment Minister, Dr David Kemp we have funding, as of 1st July, to hold coordinating Group meetings for the rest of this year. This funding will get me to where the rest of the Executive will be gathered for Desert Channels Queensland meetings and allow us to meet at minimal cost. Minister Kemp has provided us with this support until the end of this calendar year when the success of the system and further funding will be reviewed.
Because of our down-sizing, we no longer have the membership to fulfil the role of Community Advisory Committee (CAC) to the Lake Eyre Basin Ministerial Forum. The CAC is in the process of being restructured and I anticipate that we will continue to play a strong role in this body.
To support the CAC, which will represent the community of the Basin, the Ministerial Forum is funding a full-time facilitator. The Coordinating Group, as the most broadly-based community body in the Basin, has lobbied successfully to have a seat on the selection panel for this position which, hopefully, will be advertised soon. We have also asked the Minister to have the facilitator based within the Basin, preferably at Longreach. After all, the Basin is where the community is, where the CAC is drawn from, and where the work of the facilitator will be. Hopefully by the time of the next newsletter, the facilitator will be in place and we will have some further information on the composition and workings of the new CAC.
In October we will be holding a joint catchment committee meeting in Longreach. I look forward to seeing as many of you as can fit it into your busy schedules. In the meantime, I hope the weather is kind to you all.
Kind regards,
David Lord.
The apparent dissatisfaction with the community consultation aspect of the scientific process looking at river health in the Murray Darling Basin will not be repeated in the Lake Eyre Basin if a recent Longreach meeting is anything to go by.
The Scientific Advisory Panel to the Lake Eyre Basin Ministerial Forum was in Longreach to fulfil an October 2002 pledge by Panel Chair, Professor Peter Cullen to come and talk to community members and see first-hand the issues of land management in the Cooper Creek catchment.
“We’re very conscious that science is only part of the story and we’re keen to engage with the local knowledge of people who live and work in the Basin – that’s why we’re here,” said Professor Cullen at the Longreach meeting on 21st May.
“The Ministers have asked us to look at vegetation thickening issues and we felt we needed to talk to people who know a lot about those issues, to travel through the country and see them. So the next few days are us building our knowledge and understanding of what the local knowledge about those issues (is), and we put that alongside the scientific knowledge and come back to the Ministers with some advice. The community will also get that advice and they’ll be able to make comment on it.”
After their Longreach meeting, the Scientific Advisory Panel travelled to Barcaldine where they met with representatives of the Desert Uplands Strategy Group. The Desert Uplands covers the far north-east of the Cooper Creek catchment and is the part of the catchment where vegetation thickening is of greatest concern.
The following day the Panel headed north to ‘Fortuna’. Owner, Margaret House showed Panel members how development of modest areas of her property through tree clearing, water ponding and improved pasture, enhanced the sustainability of her enterprise. She pointed out that development of eucalypt country on her property was not aimed at removing all trees but rather reaching a happy balance between trees and grass.
According to Margaret, ‘Fortuna’, like a lot of the Desert Uplands, has suffered from reduced carrying capacity due to timber thickening in the past 100 years. “We didn’t push tree-clearing with the panel but wanted them to understand our point of view and to see the country for themselves,” she said.
“The visit was too short to show them much but it made me realise that we speak a different language and we need to spend time together to get to understand each other.”
The next stop was the shores of Lake Dunn where Bernie Dickson described how four generations of his family had made a living off ‘The Lake’. Development of less than 10% of his property to improved pasture has made a big difference in surviving droughts such as the one still gripping much of the Desert Uplands.
Bob and Lesley Marshall of ‘Swanlea’ then took the Panel to their samphire and saltbush areas around Lake Galilee. Bob described how through development of ‘Swanlea’ his family had survived several droughts without any handouts. Lesley showed the panel members how land resource mapping was now at similar standards to other parts of Queensland due to projects funded through the Desert Uplands Strategy.
The final stop for the day was Mike Price’s property ‘Marengo’. Mike has restored the property he purchased in the mid 1990s to productivity through clearing, burning and spelling. He prides himself that these improvements were entirely funded by his enterprise and the sustainable production was beneficial to the whole district. Less than half of ‘Marengo’ has been cleared with extensive shade belts of black gidgee retained.
The party then headed north to Torrens Creek and an enjoyable BBQ dinner with members of the Tower Hill - Torrens Creek Landcare Group. Panel members gave a brief presentation on their areas of expertise and roles on the Panel. There was a good discussion of catchment issues with community members, many of whom felt they had been overlooked in various natural resource management processes such as water planning. Although some of these matters were outside the role of the Panel, there was an appreciation amongst the locals that such a group had come to meet with, and listen to them.
As part of its commitment to engaging the youth of the catchment in natural resource management, the Georgina Diamantina Catchment Committee invited Winton State School teacher, Gemma Cameron and some of her year 10 science students to attend part of their recent Winton meeting. The students are taking part in a scientific challenge that requires the identification and investigation of a natural resource management issue related to a freshwater ecosystem of concern to a local community.
The Committee presented them with a Lake Eyre Basin map and gave an overview of committee work – how they are the representatives of the community coming together to manage complex natural resource management issues.
The Winton State School year 10 class writes: “We are currently participating in a state wide competition being held by the Department of Natural Resources and Mines called ‘Our Future, Our Water: A Challenge to Youth’. It involves the study of a fresh water ecosystem in our district, identifying problems and finding solutions.
In August, we travel to Ipswich to present our results at the National Sciences Centre. (If we are successful and win, we will be funded to put our solutions into actions). We have decided to study and compare three different waterholes in the Winton district – Long Waterhole, Engine Hole and a Turkey’s Nest. Our aim is to identify any major environmental issues related to the waterholes and then develop some possible solutions.
In early May, we attended a Georgina/Diamantina Catchment Committee meeting, which was informative and helpful in beginning our assignment. Members of the Committee presented us with a poster showing the whole of the Lake Eyre Basin and which towns are included in the area. We also received a poster on the different fish species found in the district and brochures detailing different aspects about water and how it can be examined. We have used these so far in our research to help us gain a better knowledge of our place in the Lake Eyre Basin.
Each week we travel out to the waterholes to conduct observations and tests on the conductivity, pH, turbidity, macro-invertebrates, temperature, soil type and rainfall. As well as collecting water samples, we also observe any evidence of human and/ or animal impacts. Our thanks go to Vanessa Bailey from the Environmental Protection Agency who kindly lent us the equipment to perform some of these tests.
We have also had the privilege of working with Peter Klem, the Rural Lands Officer from the Winton Shire Council who accompanied us on one of our excursions and assisted us with the vegetation profiles. To keep these updated, we will do another vegetation profile after rain. Peter also showed us how to use a GPS which we used to take points of the waterholes. He then kindly developed a map showing the track we took and the relative size of the area we covered.
Ross Wilson from Cannington Mine is yet another person who has kindly helped us with our testing. He sent several water sample bottles to us so we can collect samples and send them back. He has offered to run tests to find the blue-green algae content of the waterholes and return the results.
We are hoping to work closely with community members and associated organisations to inform people who may not know such things about our local waterholes.
Taking on such a task has been, and will continue to be, a challenge and experience for all af us. We hope to do well in our research and report, as well as in our presentation.”
The dust has settled on the ‘Year of the Outback’ and it’s a good time to take stock, and re-evaluate what tourism means to remote and regional Australia – especially the Lake Eyre Basin.
There’s no doubt the publicity and hype reinforces that the quintessential Australian experience revolves around the concept of Outback. The Outback entails our sense of history, heritage and is the essence of what makes Australia unique.
The Lake Eyre Basin is richly endowed with the natural and cultural assets that are integral to the Outback. Vast open spaces, languid, coolibah-lined waterholes, red rolling dunes, braided channels, floodplains and Mitchell grass downs, and above all, the characters who live there are classic Outback.
Market research claims that 95 percent of Australians want to visit the inland, and that the Outback is synonymous with Australia in the minds of international travellers. The 1999 research figures indicate that Australians spent $24 billion in regional Australia.
In some quarters the Outback is seen as the bright future of the Australian tourism industry. This promise of economic opportunity is not universal – not all the remote parts of Australia are attractive or accessible to the growing flow of tourism traffic. Over 85 percent of domestic travel is by private vehicle and it is this ‘drive’ market that dictates much of the tourist spending in regional Australia.
Just as the ephemeral river systems of the Lake Eyre Basin dictated early patterns of Aboriginal occupation and later pastoral settlement, it is the roads and tracks of the Basin that now funnel the growing visitor traffic. Access to, and availability of, water remains a key to where visitors want to go and the type of experience they are seeking. The mound springs, the waterholes and billabongs on the Cooper, Georgina, Diamantina, Barcoo, Bullo, Thomson, Finke, Neales and other lesser rivers, the periodically filled vast expanses of Lake Eyre, the natural wetlands of Coongie and Diamantina Lakes and the many man made wetlands from the numerous bore overflows all provide a magnetic attraction for travellers to the Basin. In the Outback magazine’s Travel Guide 2003, of the 52 Outback Adventures described Australia-wide 12 are featured in the Lake Eyre Basin.
Most tourism traffic in the Basin follows specific routes. In the Queensland Outback the ‘Matilda Highway’ is the dominant feeder route for tourism. This connects major towns like Blackall, Barcaldine, Longreach and Winton, all of which have developed major heritage centres to attract and hold the visitors. Many of the smaller communities along the way are promoting distinctive aspects of their heritage to cash in on some of this travelling trade. In most cases tourism has become a vital aspect of the local economy and the individual Shire councils are increasingly tuned in to maximising the opportunities presented.
While most tourists tend to be passing through the Basin, heading to other prime locations in the Northern Territory and Kimberley, there is a growing trend for the Queensland coastal dwellers from Brisbane to Cairns to undertake loop trips through the Outback of mid-west Queensland. This will increase as coastal populations swell and better road infrastructure is developed through the region. It offers a promising window of opportunity for a range of tourism enterprises along these routes.
On the western side of the Basin, the Central Australian precinct around Alice Springs has long been a major tourism destination. Branded as the ‘Explorer Highway’, the Stuart Highway is used by most of the south north traffic and connects to numerous byways.
By far the most popular travel circuit links many of the Central Australian icons. The gorges through the Western McDonnell Ranges, Palm Valley, Hermannsburg, the Mereenie Loop Road, Watarka (Kings Canyon) and Uluru (Ayers Rock) are all significant attractions. Here tourism is the lifeblood of the region and coexists relatively comfortably with pastoralism, mining and Aboriginal communities.
Often forgotten in the tourism equation is the south-eastern corner of the Basin. It also has a significant flow route in the Barrier Highway connecting Peterborough in South Australia’s mid-north to Broken Hill, the premier Outback destination in New South Wales. This is currently a very under-promoted and under-developed tourism sector which is increasingly being used by through traffic accessing the Flinders Ranges, Lake Eyre and the Cooper Creek region in northern South Australia.
The classic Outback tracks; Oodnadatta, Finke, Birdsville and Strzelecki along with the crossing of the Simpson Desert are the tourism hot spots in the Basin. Many different combinations and variations of route are possible here and these have become major destinations for the ever-expanding four-wheel-drive market.
Driven by a burgeoning 4x4, campervan and camping accessory industry along with an endless stream of motivating magazine articles, guide books and specialist maps, the outward urge of the Australian suburban dwellers has made this the fastest growing sector in the vehicle market. Communities such as Marree, William Creek, Oodnadatta, Innamincka, Birdsville, Boulia and Windorah all gain the benefits from this tourism flow into the heart of the Lake Eyre Basin.
It is the National Parks such as Witjira, Simpson Desert, Innamincka Regional Reserve, Lake Eyre and Diamantina Lakes which are taking the brunt of visitor pressure. In many cases the rapid increase in tourists and the demands on these areas have outstripped both the planning and resourcing for adequate management. General infrastructure, especially development and maintenance of the roads and tracks, rubbish disposal, water supply and sewerage are all becoming critical issues.
For the people in these remote regions to capitalise on tourism alongside traditional economic activities such as pastoralism will require a much more cohesive and cooperative approach. Various government agencies and key stakeholders need to address these challenges in a way that is sustainable and protects the unique heritage values that are the attraction for an ever-growing visitor interest.
The tourism flow routes can mean dollars and economic gain for those able to, and wanting to access this visitation stream, but it needs to go hand in hand with sound infrastructure, good management and a cooperative approach by all parties involved. ‘Inland Rivers: Outback Tracks’, the Lake Eyre Basin Heritage Tourism Strategy now being completed, aims to provide some of the strategic guidelines for this to happen while keeping with the fundamental principles that underpin the aspirations of the Lake Eyre Basin communities.
Steve Wilson, Regional Coordinator, Desert Channels Queensland writes:
The team has been busy developing an achievable pathway to a viable regional natural resource management plan.
Our plan-scoping team, which brings together staff from Desert Channels Queensland, Lake Eyre Basin Group and the Desert Uplands Strategy Group, is investigating practical ways of sourcing and delivering information to the community.
Promotion of Desert Channels Queensland as the new regional body has been ongoing, through shows, ABC rural radio interviews, articles in newsletters, and various catchment group and Landcare meetings.
We have a logo, map, information pamphlet, and posters giving simple information on Desert Channels Queensland, the planning process, stakeholders involved, timeline and contact details.
A communications plan has been produced which records and demonstrates how, why and who we consult. This will be followed by a regional overview – a snapshot of the region. It includes information on population, size, climate, topography, industry data and key identified issues.
The regional overview is then attached to a community information paper, which essentially recognises who we are, what we do, acknowledges the key issues across the region and hopefully starts to stimulate discussion and feedback, which can be incorporated into the draft plan.
On a financial note, $97,000 was received from the Rubber Vine Management Group for the Lake Eyre Basin region, and $70,000 from the state for a remote sensing project.
Our $947,000 state Coordinator/Facilitator bid was successful. This ensures support for the planning process and the implementation groups of the region until the end of June 2004. Good progress has also been made toward finalising two priority action projects, Cross Catchment Weed and Feral Animal Initiative, and Information Management and Communication.
Human Geographer and researcher, Leah Gibbs, is interested in water in the Lake Eyre Basin.
“I’m exploring the social and cultural values of water paths and water sites,” she says, then explains that water paths and sites are places that hold water at some time, including rivers and floodplains, springs, dams, lakes and boredrains.
“Social and cultural values are increasingly being recognised as important in water management strategies, but at this stage understanding is fairly undeveloped.
“The economic and ecological values of water are better understood than social and cultural values, but they are all intrinsically linked.
“In order to develop sustainable and just ways of living with water we need a more complete understanding of the different ways water is important to people in the Basin.”
Leah is doing her PhD through the Centre for Resource and Environmental Studies at the Australian National University in Canberra and her research project, ‘Rethinking Water: values of water in the Lake Eyre Basin’ is a four year project.
In her recently completed first field trip, Leah spent two months speaking with people from Longreach to the mound springs south of Lake Eyre.
In addition to her thesis, Leah is keenly interested in how her work can be of use to the community.
“For me an important part of this research project is that it fulfils not only my needs, but can be of some use or interest to people in the Basin.”
Leah can be contacted by email: lgibbs@cres.anu.edu.au, or phone: (02) 6125 8136.
Tom Kruse was a legend along the Birdsville Track long before Hollywood ever heard the sound of that name. Joc Schmiechen, our heritage tourism Project Officer went along to the recent Adelaide launch of Kristin Weidenbach’s book on the Birdsville Track years of this Outback legend.
The Glenelg Jetty Hotel function room was packed with Outback enthusiasts enjoying a traditional lamb roast dinner with all the trimmings – the warm and friendly atmosphere offset a crisp May, Adelaide evening. The centre of attention was a silver-haired, elderly gentleman now slightly bent with the years but still with an irrepressible sparkle in his eyes – Tom Kruse, legendary mailman of the Birdsville Track.
The evening was to launch a new book by Kristin Weidenbach chronicling the twenty years that Tom was a household word and lifeblood to the isolated dwellers along one of the loneliest tracks in Australia. Immortalised in the award-winning documentary ‘Back of Beyond’ made in the mid 1950s, Tom’s battles with the shifting sands and capricious moods of the outback became one of the classic Australian images and even drew the attention of the Queen.
Through Kristin’s father’s passionate involvement in the restoration of Tom’s favourite Badger truck, the idea for this book was conceived. Kristin provided some entertaining insights into the lengths she had to go to piece together the intricate jigsaw of a fascinating life from countless hours of interviews. Pinning down the milestone dates was a special challenge as Tom’s retentive memory was more focused on what horse had won which race rather than dates and times.
Tom’s life companion, Valma whose meticulous collection of letters, photos and news clippings provided much of the background for this great story provided a few choice details on a long life shared, where Tom was mostly absent.
In sharing some of the yarns and philosophy of an adventurous life, Tom himself provided the high that all the guests had come for. I especially liked his view on time, ‘I have never worried about time, the Almighty made plenty of it’.
After much book signing and many incidental yarns, the evening regrettably came to an end.
‘Mailman of the Birdsville Track - the story of Tom Kruse’ is a great read, but only half as good as sharing a pleasant, informative and nostalgic evening with one of the outback greats. It was a powerful reminder that one of the greatest heritage assets of the outback and the Lake Eyre Basin is the people who live and work in it.
Some people living around the Thomson and Barcoo Rivers in the Channel Country are probably quite familiar with the scrabbling sound a possum makes in the roof, and the inevitable rowdy fights that happen if another possum moves into that territory. Most people wouldn’t know that the Common Brushatil Possum (Trichosurus vulpecula vulpecula) is anything but common now, having disappeared from most of the rest of inland Australia, and hanging on in only a couple of places like the Channel Country and the West MacDonnell Ranges near Alice Springs.
Early explorers in Central Australia described possums as ‘extremely abundant’ and occurring ‘everywhere amongst eucalypts that border the riverbeds’. These days possums are considered extinct in arid NSW; there is one unconfirmed record of possums in arid SA (central Flinders Ranges); and three records from arid WA (east Pilbara and near Warburton). Outside of their stronghold in the West MacDonnell Ranges, there are possibly only three other locations, where a handful of possums occur, in arid parts of the Northern Territory.
The main reasons behind the massive decline in possum numbers in inland Australia are thought to be a combination of pressures from predators (cats, foxes and dingoes), unfavourable changes in fire regimes, and competition for food plants by rabbits, camel and stock. Most of the extinctions of possum populations happened during big droughts in the 1940s and 1960s. The remaining small populations are most vulnerable in dry times.
The Threatened Species Network is keen to hear from landholders west of the Mitchell and Landsborough Highways who still have possums (or used to have them) on their places in order to help work out how well possums are doing in the Channel Country. Please contact Colleen O’Malley TSN Coordinator - Arid Rangelands, ph. (08) 8952 1541 or email: tsnnt@ozemail.com.au if you would like more information about possums.