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Our country needs Indigenous rangers Our country needs Indigenous rangers
(4 months later)
We are fast We are fast approaching the first budget of the Abbott government – a critical time for Indigenous land and sea management. Millions of hectares of Australia are not actively covered and as a result, destructive fire, feral animals and invasive weeds are slowly degrading our beautiful country.
approaching the first budget of the Abbott government – a critical time for Indigenous land
and sea management. Millions of hectares
of Australia are not actively covered and as a result, destructive fire, feral
animals and invasive weeds are slowly degrading our beautiful country.
Crucialy, these are ancestral places – and Indigenous people want to work with those lands.Crucialy, these are ancestral places – and Indigenous people want to work with those lands.
I am a Wik I am a Wik man, raised both in what most Australians would think of as a remote part of our country and in urban eastern Australia. My traditional country is Western Cape York – a place called Aayk, a little inland of Cape Keer Weer where the Dutch first landed. This region includes magnificent wetlands teeming with wildlife and the most pristine beaches you will find anywhere in Australia, if not the world.
man, raised both in what most Australians would think of as a remote part of
our country and in urban eastern Australia.
My traditional country is Western Cape York – a place
called Aayk, a little inland of Cape Keer Weer where the Dutch first
landed. This region includes magnificent
wetlands teeming with wildlife and the most pristine beaches you will find
anywhere in Australia, if not the world.
To me this country is not remote, either physically or emotionally. It is my true home, the place of my ancestors, the place we love and are committed to caring for as a people. Step by step we are rebuilding productive livelihoods for ourselves on our lands. We have started a community owned organisation, APN Cape York, to help us get to where we want to go. In partnership with government, private and the philanthropic sectors, we are reinvigorating a successful cattle enterprise, skilling our young people for work in the construction sector, and developing a big vision for future generations.To me this country is not remote, either physically or emotionally. It is my true home, the place of my ancestors, the place we love and are committed to caring for as a people. Step by step we are rebuilding productive livelihoods for ourselves on our lands. We have started a community owned organisation, APN Cape York, to help us get to where we want to go. In partnership with government, private and the philanthropic sectors, we are reinvigorating a successful cattle enterprise, skilling our young people for work in the construction sector, and developing a big vision for future generations.
But our country But our country is under pressure. Like the rest of tropical and remote outback, it needs care and management. Unchecked bushfires have been on the rise since my people moved from their traditional lands. In 2009, a bushfire came through in the late dry season burning millions of hectares. It damaged environmentally sensitive areas, culturally significant sites and important pastoral lands.
is under pressure. Like the rest of Our people’s very lives depended on careful management. Our own traditional practices of patch burning shaped the environments that support our beautiful native plants and animals today. Scientists now know that disrupting this ancient practice has had massive negative impacts on the Australian environment.
tropical and remote outback, it needs care and management. Unchecked bushfires have been on the rise Bushfires are not the only issue. Feral pigs, introduced soon after white settlement, exploded in numbers. Now there are literally millions across Cape York. They are a major environmental threat to native animals and vegetation.
since my people moved from their traditional lands. In 2009, a bushfire came For example, beaches in our part of the world are vital nesting grounds for threatened olive ridlely turtles. Work our rangers did last year showed that over 95% of the turtle nests along a 10km stretch of beach were being dug up and the eggs eaten by feral pigs. That’s hundreds of turtle nests. We didn’t cause this impact, but our rangers now work to stop it.
through in the late dry season burning millions of hectares. It damaged environmentally Steadily, guided by our elders, we are reclaiming our homelands and taking responsibility for their care.
sensitive areas, culturally significant sites and important pastoral lands. When I look up from the day-to-day work on our own country, I see similar inspiring stories. Nationally, over 700 Indigenous rangers are working in partnership with the federal government through the Working on Country program. Over 60 Indigenous protected areas bring the best of Indigenous traditional and western style management to millions of square kilometres of our most sensitive remote landscapes and coastal areas.
Our people’s We should be proud of these world-leading programs. Begun under John Howard, and strengthened under previous Labor governments, it’s now vital that we further strengthen them under the new Abbott federal government.
very lives depended on careful management. Our own I have no illusions that there are silver bullet solutions for remote outback Australia. But we must recognise and back initiatives that work. Let’s use this budget to support the leadership shown by Indigenous rangers, and invest to maintain and strengthen a true and enduring partnership in caring for this beautiful country, for the benefit of all Australians.
traditional practices of patch burning shaped the environments that support our
beautiful native plants and animals today. Scientists now know that disrupting
this ancient practice has had massive negative impacts on the Australian environment.
Bushfires are not the only issue. Feral pigs,
introduced soon after white settlement, exploded in numbers. Now there are
literally millions across Cape York. They
are a major environmental threat to native animals and vegetation.
For example, beaches in our part of the world are vital nesting grounds for threatened olive
ridlely turtles. Work our rangers did last year showed that over 95% of the turtle nests along a 10km stretch of beach were being dug up and
the eggs eaten by feral pigs. That’s
hundreds of turtle nests. We didn’t cause this impact, but our rangers now work
to stop it.
Steadily,
guided by our elders, we are reclaiming our homelands and taking
responsibility for their care.
When I look
up from the day-to-day work on our own country, I see similar inspiring stories. Nationally, over
700 Indigenous rangers are working in partnership with the federal government
through the Working on Country program.
Over 60 Indigenous protected areas bring the best of Indigenous
traditional and western style management to millions of square kilometres of our
most sensitive remote landscapes and coastal areas.
We should be
proud of these world-leading programs. Begun under John Howard, and strengthened
under previous Labor governments, it’s now vital that we further strengthen
them under the new Abbott federal government.
I have no
illusions that there are silver bullet solutions for remote outback Australia. But we must recognise and back initiatives
that work. Let’s use this budget to support the
leadership shown by Indigenous rangers, and invest to maintain and
strengthen a true and enduring partnership in caring for this beautiful country, for the benefit of all Australians.