Campaign pushes to protect lower Lake Eyre Basin

As an historic pastoral business seeks to sell tenure over enormous tracts of land in the Australian outback, the question begs to be asked: might the nation’s interests be better served preserving and protecting some of these iconic landscapes?

That’s the question lone campaigner Rod Moffatt is asking all Australians to consider as pastoral leases currently controlled by S. Kidman and Co. are up for tender, with a sale expected to be finalised sometime early this year.

“I visited the lower Lake Eyre catchment in 2011 when the lake was filling and the ecology of the region was in overdrive. Flocks of birds were flying in from all directions,” Moffatt said, “and the same natural phenomenon is happening right now.

“If only all Australians living by the coast had the opportunity to witness this spectacular wildlife event firsthand, they would have no problem understanding why this region is so unique and desperately requires protection.”

A Tender Situation

Moffatt, who grew up in rural NSW and has travelled extensively throughout Australia’s arid regions, has personally witnessed the increasing degradation of these habitats as caused by drought, pastoral activities and increased mining operations.

S. Kidman and Co., while occupying less land now than it did in its heyday, has long enjoyed its status as the largest private landholder in Australia – a status which is set to change with the company now set to pass into new hands.

Early last year, Ernst and Young Adelaide was engaged to oversee the sale of S. Kidman and Co., including cattle stations covering more than 100,000 square kilometres in South Australia, Queensland, Northern Territory and Western Australia.

The sales process, while not widely publicised, continued throughout the latter part of last year almost to the point of sale, only to be stalled by federal treasurer Scott Morrison, who, in November blocked a deal that would see the company sold to a Chinese-owned consortium.

In a written statement at the time, Morrison cited the Woomera Prohibited Area (WPA) weapons-testing range (in which S. Kidman and Co.’s largest station, Anna Creek station, lies within) as the major reason why the sale to foreign investors would be ‘contrary to the national interest’, thereby prohibiting the sale in its then current form.

A revised offer is now believed to be before the Foreign Investment Review Board for consideration, and it is widely expected a sale will be concluded early this year – but it is yet to be seen exactly what shape this sale will take.

Moffatt, who is deeply concerned about the state of many of these critical arid-region regions, believes the S. Kidman and Co. tender presents the ideal opportunity for the Commonwealth to critically re-examine colonial-legacy arid region land use practices, and to step in and reclaim key areas bordering Lake Eyre and the lower Channel Country, and to preserve and protect them for posterity by forming a new arid-region National Park.

“In 2016, it defies logic that is some of the driest parts, of the driest habitable continent on this planet (such as in the desert dunefields around Lake Eyre and the lower Channel Country around Cooper Creek) government continues to sanction cattle grazing by the provision of crown pastoral leases (such as those held by S. Kidman & Co Ltd).

“In addition, ramped up CSG [coal seam gas] exploration and extraction activities in the lower Channel Country threaten internationally-significant Ramsar wetlands and the integrity of the Great Artesian Basin,” Moffatt said.

Lake Eyre’s World Heritage Potential

The significance of the arid-region habitats in central Australia have long been recognised by academics and international organisations on multiple levels: these areas support unique ecologies, many of them are highly susceptible to erosion and they also overlie some of the largest groundwater reserves that exist anywhere in the world.

One of the earliest and best descriptions of the region and it’s value was penned by Warren Bonython as a chapter in Australia’s Wilderness Heritage Volume I: World Heritage Areas (Weldon, 1988), yet scientists continue to discover still more things to treasure there.

Associate professor Mike Letnic from the School of Biological, Earth and Environmental Sciences at UNSW suggests the reason these areas may be critical for conservation purposes are the same reasons they’ve been so sought after by graziers.

“The Kidman properties encompass not only some of the most beautiful landscapes in inland Australia, but also some of the richest soils,” Letnic explained. “These black soil lands support Mitchell grass, which is prized for cattle grazing.”

These soils make the region ideal for the growth of flora and fauna – and their largely unrepresented in the current reserves system.

“Australians often forget that the majority of the country is actually arid, but even so these places once supported great biodiversity. The reptile and bird biodiversity still exists to a certain degree and we have the potential to bring back many of the mammals we’ve lost from these areas, but not if the best soils continue to be locked up by agriculture.”

The issue is not exactly a new one as Geoff Mosley, former director of the Australian Conservation Foundation (ACF) and regular Wild contributor, pointed out that the ACF World Heritage proposal for ‘The Channel Country – Lake Eyre (encompassing the Simpson Desert) first appeared in 1977.

“The ACF was a major proponent of this World Heritage proposal from an early date, but it faced challenges due to the fact that it takes in parts of two states and the Northern Territory.”

The area was later included on the IUCN’s World Heritage Indicative List in 1982 and in the Australian Indicative List in 1991 (our own indicative list has since been replaced by a greatly reduced ‘Tentative List’).

Mosley stated that it may be doubly challenging to garner more protection for these regions now, due to the current political atmosphere that puts the short term needs of industry ahead of those of natural or cultural significance.

“The World Heritage nominations process has ground to a halt in Australia. We no longer have an inter-government ministerial body responsible for vetting and furthering World Heritage proposals and the only areas on Australia’s Tentative World Heritage List are The Great Sandy – an extension of the Fraser Island World Heritage Area – and The Gondwana Rainforests World Heritage Area. They have been on that list since 2010.”

Campaign Challenges

Moffatt, whose petition on Change.org has so far received just 360 signatures (at the time of writing), realises that what he is asking from the Commonwealth government could be considered nothing less than a miracle.

“If – and I accept it’s a longshot – the Commonwealth were to fund such a proposal (perhaps through the Emissions Reduction Fund), park management and rehabilitation activities could provide sustainable employment opportunities to a greater number of regional people (Indigenous and non-Indigenous) and generate sustainable tourism revenue in excess of that which can reliably be raised by continued cattle grazing.”

However, he also states that such a bold move, bolstered by the support of the Australian people, would also send a clear signal that our nation is intent on redressing the negative global reputation we currently regarding our record on conservation, biodiversity retention and climate change mitigation.