Towards a Sustainable, Diversified Land Sector Economy for North Australia

Previous chapters have set out a compelling case for developing sustainable economies across the North that are inclusive of the wellbeing and aspirations of Indigenous people. Despite being very significant components of the North’s population, especially in remoter areas, and increasingly ‘land rich’ through ongoing acquisitions and Native Title determinations, it is widely acknowledged that Indigenous people remain severely economically and socially disadvantaged. In this chapter we address the challenge of developing a culturally, environmentally, socially, and economically sustainable regional land sector economy, focusing on alternatives to the current spatially dominant land use sector of the North, the pastoral industry. By some estimates, beef cattle production activities occur over as much as 90% of North Australia, particularly involving extensive, as opposed to intensive grain-fed, production systems.1 Pastoral lands include not only pastoral leases but also swathes of country involving Indigenously-owned Land Trust areas, such as Arnhem Land that supports large numbers of feral water buffalo, cattle, and horses. Available data indicate that there are around four million cattle in our focal area of 1.2 million km2 of the North Australia study region (Chapter 2; Map 2.3), with a ‘ northern Australian’ (including all of Queensland) herd of around 13.7 million, and a national herd of around 25 million.2 CONTENTS