Central Land Council

Rose Report Two

Pastoralism

Introduction

The pastoral industry has been the single largest influence on Aboriginal people and their land in central Australia over and above any other contemporary land use. Since European settlement some 60 percent of the Northern Territory has been used for pastoral purposes. In many areas Aboriginal people have played a key role in the development of the industry. At the same time pastoralism has been and remains a barrier to many Aboriginal people living on and regaining title to their traditional lands. For many people the present situation, where pastoralism extends across the most productive lands of the Territory, has been their only experience. Prior to the granting of equal pay for Aboriginal workers in 1967 there were considerable numbers of Aboriginal people working on cattle stations.

Today there are few opportunities for employment on non-Aboriginal owned pastoral properties. Following Aboriginal pastoral property purchases over the last two decades we now have a range of pastoral ventures which vary according to the aspirations and skills of traditional owners and the influences of consultants and funding bodies.

Traditional owners' aspirations and concerns in relation to these ventures have not been well documented.

Overview

Pastoralism is seen by many Aboriginal people as a desirable land use which brings with it a degree of wealth and power. It is also seen as a desirable option for providing employment on or close to traditional lands. In many regions the expectations of the benefits which come from pastoral projects are high, often unreasonably so. Thiese expectations are based on past experience with non-Aboriginal pastoral ventures and the perceived power and prestige associated with being a pastoralist. Funding for Aboriginal pastoral projects has been available from very early times when government reserves and missions encouraged animal husbandry to "productively employ" and train Aboriginal people in the work ethic.

Aboriginal people are aware that pastoral ventures continue to be favoured by funding bodies. There are, however, a few Aboriginal pastoralists who are reluctant to seek funding because they perceive that with such funding lessens their control of their project. While most of those indirectly involved in pastoral projects stand to benefit very little in dollar terms from these projects they do benefit in other ways.

Pastoralism provides the opportunity for active employment for young men on their traditional country. Such opportunities are welcomed in communities with high unemployment and problems of substance abuse. Occasional access to fresh meat from a pastoral project is also a significant benefit to the community and provides a significant substitute for income. These benefits are recognised by some of those who are not directly involved with pastoral ventures and contribute to ongoing support for Aboriginal pastoral activities.

Despite the long attachment many Aboriginal people have had to the pastoral industry a considerable proportion of the population want no further involvement with it. They see pastoralism as an extensive land use which gives power to a few people to control large areas of land. For many pastoralism is seen as limiting other land use options, reducing the ability to find bush foods and to carry out other traditionally based land use practices.

Pastoralism can limit or inhibit the ability to return to their country to "sit down" and carry on traditional links with the land. Women's view While some women recognise benefits from pastoralism, many also perceive a degree of inequity in funds provided for pastoral projects. This was reflected in the view of many women that resources for pastoral activities are always under the control of men. Women said that funding for a range of community based projects is not available while pastoral projects get substantial support. Some women also recounted examples of how pastoral activities interfered with other land uses such as collecting bush foods. How Aboriginal people perceive the benefits of pastoralism Income Financial benefit is a significant factor in Aboriginal interest in pastoralism. Whether or not such benefits are accrued in reality (and they generally are not) some people see cattle projects as potential generators of wealth. It is not difficult to see where such views have originated. In the past, funding bodies have provided money for the establishment of pastoral ventures.

Other organisations such as the primary industries departments, Aboriginal development groups, welfare organisations, mission organisations and even pastoralists associations have promoted the virtues of pastoralism as an enterprise for Aboriginal groups. While the attention of these bodies has been focused on economics, the real benefits of Aboriginal pastoral activity have been obscured. Aboriginal people are influenced by the practical examples they see of pastoralism. These are often associated with significant injections of funding for property purchase and development of infrastructure .

The process through which Aboriginal groups are taken to develop project proposals for pastoral enterprises and to apply for funding also emphasises the economic aspects. Pastoral projects which are motivated by concerns for employment, the generation of activity or as a result of a long tradition of cattle work often receive little support unless they can prove economic viability in its narrowest sense.

Employment and activity

The provision of employment for community members is perhaps the most widely recognised benefit of pastoral activity. For many small scale pastoral projects it would be more accurate to talk about the generation of activity rather than employment as wages are often minimal because of the size of the project. The important thing is that there is a focus for the community through productive activity for young men. Older respondents saw the benefits of this work for young people as keeping them out of trouble and giving them a reason to remain on their country rather than to seek the stimulation of larger towns. They often complained, however, that not enough young people wanted to carry on this work.

Their interest was hard to maintain and if there was no opportunity for the development of skills at a young age then there was little chance to attract them back to the community once they had gone. For example, at Karlampurlpa outstation on the Karlantijpa North Aboriginal Land Trust, there is strong interest in developing a cattle enterprise. "We have already got about thirty cattle, wild ones that we have branded. When it gets dry we will catch the brumby horses. We are interested in agisting some cattle. We want to know how much we could get and what it would involve." One of the prime motivations to set up the cattle project at Karlampurlpa is to have some constructive work for people to do on their country.

The community believes that the social problems which are evident in many communities are the result of alcohol abuse where there is little work for people to do to keep them out of trouble. Some other regions where cattle ventures provide the incentive to keep young men out of town and away from grog are seen as models. "Up at Dagaragu they have lots of young and old people working for the cattle business, they good people. Not like down here where they are all into grog." At Antarrengenye outstation community on the Alyawarra Aboriginal Land Trust pastoral aspirations were modest and linked to the desire to have some constructive activity for young men on country. "We got no cattle here. We haven't got enough money to buy them. That would give young people something to do."

At Mulga Bore community on an excision from Atartinga Station the respondents said that they had been offered another block on which they could run a few head of cattle, maybe twenty or so. The main reason for the interest in cattle was that it would give the young men something to do. There was also an awareness of the possibility that cattle could damage the country if there were too many. "Cattle can damage the country too if they breed up, you got to look after the countryside to take care of it." Young people are seen to have little opportunity for employment on the country and there is some difficulty involving them in station work. "Cattle business – we need to have young fellas to help us with it, for shifting from one bore to another – or for branding. Lots of work. Can get some blokes from CDEP (Community Development Employment Program) to help, they won't work without the money." The old values are seen to be good, the time before grog and when these men were young and fit. The residents at Pulardi Bore, which is an outstation located Yuelamu Land Trust, are involved with the cattle company at Yuelamu community as several of the young men work for the cattle company.

Yuelamu Cattle Company is run by a board of directors composed of traditional owners for the area who employ a manager to control the day to day activities of the pastoral enterprise. "No cattle around here, they don't come out into this country. That cattle business is good work for young men. We need to have more good work on the country. We haven't got any cattle here ourselves." At Kunoth Bore outstation on an excision from Hamilton Downs pastoral lease there are about twenty horses in small paddocks around the outstation.

The horses had been "grown up to sell em". They are kept for children to ride and are taken to Hermannsburg community and to outstations where there are irregular small scale equestrian events. At present they are looking for more country to run some cattle on. "The community is growing out here with lots of kids and we want them to have something good to do while they grow up, keep them out of trouble. Cattle is a way of life.

Many Aboriginal people have lived and worked with pastoralism all their lives. Working for pastoralists in a variety of jobs they have developed considerable skills in handling and managing cattle and maintaining fences and bores. Having cattle of their own to run on country is seen as a way of life. At Yuelamu community people said; "This one we claimed it from early days – we people still looking after the bores. You've got to think about things in front, [i.e. in advance] if you think about things behind [i.e. afterwards] it's too late. If you want to truck all your cattle at the right time you got to ring Elders at the right time. We got to shift those cattle to other place for food. Old time country was all open – no fence – country never go dry – there were no cattle here only some horses, country never dry, they never finish up all the grass."

Some respondents spoke of the important part cattle work has played in their lives and of the attraction between the stock-worker and his horses and working the country. "When you dreaming you think about chasing bullock and riding horses and making hobble chains." At Orrtipa Thurra community, an excision from Jervois Station, the respondents said they wanted to get back their country so they could work on the land and with animals. "We want country for horse and bullock. Yeah horse and bullock I want 'em. We can get a truck there too to carry fence and wood around, to build yards, work him." Good use of country For those who have grown up with the industry, pastoralism is seen as a good way to use country. Using the country is important because without use the country grows wild and takes on the appearance that there is no-one looking after it. Traditional owners were often at pains to point out that their country is productive and can provide all the resources they need. When their country is seen as good cattle country this is an important compliment which reaffirms its fertility and productivity.

At Urlampe community on Tobermorey Station, having cattle is seen as a good way to use the country.

"I want to have some cattle there, there's a lot of good country there, I've seen cattle come off that country and they were as good as anything. For a start I would put around 500 head. There's lots of work to do out there to fix up the fences, only got fences on two sides now." At Ankerrapw (Utopia Homestead) the respondents have been working to get their property into order for cattle. "We have been trapping wild bullocks and using horses to round them up. It would be good to get some training for young fellas to clean up the property properly, get a fence to keep them in. We've got an earmark and brand, private brand. We want to clean out bullock, truck em, lock off the business places [sacred sites] with fences. We don't want to worry about grog in this place we just want to look after it properly. Then we can put on 500 head on fenced off property."

At Alatyeye, which is situated on an excision from Alcoota Station, having a few head of cattle is seen as a desirable way to use the country. The main respondent had worked with horses and cattle all his life and stated that he was aware of the need for proper management and the use of new information to do the best job possible. The type of pastoral activity desired was small scale. "We want to have a few cattle here for our own benefit. You've got to have horses if you want to have cattle, you can't go around with helicopters or even cars because you can't get them in the rocky country. You've got to have a close eye on the country and spell the paddocks to stop overgrazing."

Traditional owners for the country which is currently held by Mt Dennison pastoral lease are attempting to get an excision for a living area. Discussing the current land use practices in the area they said that there was a "big mob of cattle on Mt Dennison, eating all the grass and break down the trees." Despite this response people still said that having cattle on the country was good. They maintain that cattle don't affect the availability of bush tucker. There was a desire to give the message that their country is good country and always provides, is always rich in resources and is good for cattle.

Problems with pastoralism The need for land For many people pastoralism, though seen as a desirable land use option, is not practical because of their land tenure situation. For example people resident on excisions from pastoral properties do not have enough land for cattle. Most excisions are between one and five square km in size. Many of these people have had a long history of involvement with cattle on their lands, working for the pastoralist, and so having cattle is seen as a very desirable situation. Where people are resident on larger Aboriginal Land Trusts there may be a sufficient area of land to have a small cattle project, but there are constraints related to the desires of other traditional owners.

Many respondents were aware of the problems of striking agreements between groups of traditional owners for the ownership and development of pastoral projects. People often recounted negative experiences, with complaints and disagreements over land and control of the venture. The other major and perhaps more significant factor is that most Aboriginal land is not sufficiently fertile to support pastoralism at any level. The aridity of land trust areas makes them marginal for pastoral activity at the best of times. Indeed this is the prime reason they became Aboriginal reserves and were eventually scheduled as Aboriginal land with the introduction of the Aboriginal Land Rights (NT) Act 1976. Some respondents on land trusts said that they would like to work with cattle but they could not have them on their country.

Lack of interest

A problem on which many respondents commented was the apparent lack of interest among young people towards working on pastoral projects. Older interviewees lamented this situation. The younger generation in Aboriginal communities have grown up during a time of turbulent change and have not had the opportunity to develop the interest and skills in pastoralism of their elders. In some areas people have been exposed to pastoralism through living on pastoral leases, but without employment or collaboration with the pastoral enterprise. When these people gain title to their lands they are sometimes dismissive of the role of pastoralism because of their prior alienation. They are more interested in returning their lands to traditional uses and in recovering the condition of the land.

At Utopia, for example, a number of community groups are not interested in pastoralism on this former pastoral property. At Atheley outstation cattle often venture into the community area from the neighbouring Ammaroo pastoral lease. The response to these incursions is dismissive: "Bullocks sometimes come in but we just hunt them out. We don't want to have cattle of our own here." At Atnwengerrpe outstation, situated on the former stock route on Ammaroo Station, cattle were not seen as an option for practical reasons. "We got cattle all around us here on this block but we keep them out with a fence. We don't want to bring in cattle to this area, we haven't got enough land for that one." Damage to the country Very few respondents suggested that pastoral activities damaged the country. During discussions this point was pushed strongly to identify the level of awareness of degradation. The issue of land degradation is discussed more fully in chapter four. Some respondents said that pastoral managers had to monitor cattle and to make decisions about spelling country to avoid damage. Most, however, were reluctant to agree that cattle had any deleterious effects on country.

At Apengarlintem outstation on Utopia the respondents were not interested in having cattle. There was some discussion about the cattle operation at nearby Atite. "If they set that up they need to do it properly to get rid of all the feral stock and to clean the place out before they put any more in there. They have to do lots of fencing and other work too. The old fellas are too old to do it and the young ones need too much training to get anything done now. I think they'd be silly to do it but they want to. When the old people work with cattle the young ones want to too. I think that they would damage the country with the cattle. I can't see the value in having cattle out here."

At Haasts Bluff community there is a small scale cattle operation run by some of the traditional owners. The cattle operation managers who took part in this research were aware of some of the implications of having cattle on the country. They said they had to keep cattle numbers down to avoid degradation and other problems on their country. A related issue about which they were concerned was the high numbers of feral horses around the community area. These animals were seen as a menace and the sooner they could be removed the better.

Attitudes to feral animals are discussed more fully in chapter eight. Impact on other land uses Pastoralism was often seen as a land use which could effect other land uses desirable to Aboriginal people. This was the reason some respondents expressed little interest in having cattle on their country. Living areas were a prime example. The need to separate living areas from cattle is important because of the dust and disturbance cattle cause. In other areas cattle are seen as a nuisance because of their impact on sacred areas.

At Ipolera community cattle management was seen as a good option for using their land. However, the competition from other groups of people wanting to work with stock, as well as proximity to the tourist market led to the development of a tourist operation instead. "This place was our idea. You know like people started to work with the stock everybody jumped in . That's why we decided the change, because everybody can't work cattle. That's when we started to say we should try working with tourism. When we were working with stock before we had no problem because I had a brand and everything to run the cattle. Then everyone got involved. The Central Land Council got involved and they gave a brand and stuff like that to everybody. Well, you can't work them like that all too close together you know. So we got rid of them. No cattle and horses out here now, we try to get rid of all them animals"

At Kalkarindji an issue raised by community members was that cattle can violate some sacred areas. There was concern that there was no protection for sacred sites and for country where hunting was not allowed by Aboriginal Law. "Bullock, horse, camel go into sacred areas where there was no hunting before. Old people who are buried in this country, those bullock get in there, no respect for country." Maintaining control Aboriginal pastoral operations have a history of being controlled from outside by funding bodies and support services. The rationale is that Aboriginal people do not have the skills to manage and run such properties themselves.

While this may be true in some situations, the imposition of management from outside often results in alienation of the community who no longer feel ownership of the project. There is a difficult balance between providing advice and support for pastoral management to enable good decisions, and taking those decisions out of the control of the community. It would appear that the latter occurs most often. The respondents at Haasts Bluff had dealings with the Central Land Council and the Department of Primary Industries in the past but they were dismissive of the assistance such groups might provide for their cattle operation. Inviting this sort of assistance was seen as likely to lead to losing control of the cattle operation. They were not prepared to have another party come in to direct their operations.

Despite this they were keen to talk to me and during the meeting both men were telling the younger men in the group about the need to control feral camels and so on. At Mungkarta Aboriginal Land Trust, which is an Aboriginal managed pastoral operation, financial support has not been sought from any source. The Aboriginal manager there is of the opinion that if such money was provided there would be rules and controls placed on his activity which would reduce his autonomy. The pastoral operations at McLaren Creek have been running on a small scale, providing training and activity for young people while unable to provide proper wages. The benefits to the community from this operation have been significant. This approach has been possible at McLaren Creek because the Aboriginal manager is a highly motivated and respected community leader. Needs associated with pastoralism Aboriginal pastoralists suggested several areas in which they could use support to improve their operations. Training was seen as important as was the provision of support and advice to improve community involvement and support for pastoral operations.

Training

Involvement with the pastoral industry is part of recent Aboriginal history and continuing the pastoral tradition is an important issue for many people. However, as many people said, there is a need for training young people to acquire the skills to become involved and interested in pastoralism, for Aboriginal managers to learn modern management skills and for training for cattle company directors. Practical skills training was seen as the responsibility of the Aboriginal men who had gained these skills working with cattle. "We old fellas, we can train the young fellas for cattle business. We been working for a long time with the cattle. Biggest problem we got for training is that the young fellas won't come away from the town, away from the grog. Yes, grog is the biggest problem." In 1993 a training needs survey funded by DEET was conducted among Aboriginal communities of central Australia.

The study (Hanlon & Phillpott, 1993) among other issues dealt with a proposal to establish a training facility at Phillip Creek pastoral lease. A response to the survey and proposal was given by one group of respondents. "Those training needs survey mob, they didn't come to see us. We knock back the idea that they should do a training course on Phillip Creek because it is not Aboriginal land. They should do it on Aboriginal land if they want people to get the best sort of training." The study eventually recommended against the Phillip Creek proposal and proposed the establishment of an Aboriginal Rural Development Unit (ARDU) to coordinate delivery of pastoral and land management training to Aboriginal people.

The Central Land Council has supported the ARDU concept and met in March 1994 with representatives from government , industry and education authorities to discuss matters of administration and structure. Unfortunately the parties were unable to reach agreement on some fundamental issues of implementation and the future of the ARDU proposal is uncertain. With the purchase of pastoral properties by Aboriginal interests some traditional owners have taken on the role of cattle company directors. While the directors spoken to saw their role positively, the managers of the property often suggested that there were some problems with directors not being aware of their responsibilities and requirements. For example directors said; "The cattle company works well because everyone agrees and they all have the same idea. When we bought this place there were no cattle and no grass. Now there's lots of grass because of the rain and we have lots of cattle. If it comes dry time again we might have to sell off some more cattle."

However, the Aboriginal manager at this property suggested that; "We have had some difficulties in the past where cattle company directors have overstepped the mark and fired workers. There is a need for some training for them to be aware of their responsibilities as members of the cattle company and the role they need to play to help the company run. They also get some funny ideas about what level of support they should be getting out of the company, but some of that has been cleared up lately." Training in management skills and new approaches to dealing with planning and risk management are also needed. Most managers said that there was little planning for possible problems apart from a preparedness to react by selling cattle. "Cattle prefer the southern end of the block which is therefore the hardest hit for feed. We get most of our problems down there because the country has dried off again since the rain, especially down there. In a dry time we might have to move them when they have eaten all the feed. You can't do more than that because you can't tell if it's going to rain." At Utopia training for pastoral work had been provided to the community but it was seen as inappropriate.

"There was a government fella came out to give some training for the cattle side and he sat down here for six weeks but no-one came to learn anything." At some pastoral properties there is an ongoing need for support and advice so that people are aware of their rights and abilities to change what is happening. For example at Tanami Downs pastoral lease, which has recently been granted as Aboriginal freehold title under the Aboriginal Land Rights (NT) Act 1976, the traditional owners are going through the process of setting up their community and are currently trying to get adequate housing, water and educational services. In the process they are unaware of the possibilities that are available to them to use the land and what rights they have to use the present infrastructure and stock.

"There are some cattle here, quite a few. Well I don't know [who owns the cattle] he [Central Land Council ] bin just come and tell me about the land, you know they said that now I own everything, this land is mine with that whitefella law. But that's all. They said that ATSIC or cattle company they should have come to talk to us about what we really have here and what we can do with the cattle. What's going on here in the station. They [the present managers of the station] don't work here now, I don't know what they are doing, no-one told me what they are doing. Yeah I got to talk to the cattle company and the Land Council we got to find out about the cattle. Write that one down now and find out for me what's going on there. We want to know that and we want to know if we can get something for community side too, we got people now living long bush, got no houses, we need ATSIC to give us some money for house and for school for kids."

"Oh there were plenty of cattle. When they gave us title the manager been take away all those cattle from us. They took them to Mt Wedge. Well we were sitting down here, working from here, my father been mustering bullock, working long time. That's a really hard thing but we got to talk about it, work it out properly right way. They give me title to this land, must be my land, must be my bullock here now. How many miles this land now, see I don't know how much land I have got." Involvement of community members There is ongoing concern in many Aboriginal pastoral ventures about the potential for a rift between the pastoral company and the members of the community.

While pastoral company members are often also members of the community others in the community may be unable to get involved because they may not be traditional owners for the area or they may lack interest. This is seen as a problem because it can create disputes which can jeopardise a pastoral operation. Another concern was that lack of interest among young fellas would lead to the demise of the cattle company. Without ongoing interest from young people some older people begin to doubt the worth of continuing the cattle operation as it should be "for the young people to work on the land." At Atula pastoral operation on the Atnetye Land Trust, the manager (who is a traditional landowner of the station) was interested in finding some workers from within the local community who would like to take a greater role in day to day management of the cattle company. "The biggest problem I see for the cattle company is that there is no-one here working for us or in the community who has the skills or the inclination to look towards taking a greater role in the management. Young blokes are good workers but they say they just happy ringing, don't want to look any further. I ask them what they think about the things that we are doing or what things we should do and they just shrug their shoulders and leave it to me. They don't seem to have any desire to do any better for themselves."

Summary

Aboriginal people have been involved with the pastoral industry from its earliest days. Whist for many people pastoralism brought dispossession from their traditional lands it also provided employment and the ability to remain in contact with country. For many Aboriginal groups today pastoralism has become a vital part of living on their country.

Pastoral aspirations vary as a result of past experiences both with cattle work and with the bureaucracy controlling Aboriginal cattle enterprises. There will continue to be interest in setting up cattle projects as more Aboriginal people gain access to land. One of the main reasons people want to have pastoral projects is that they know cattle work and identify with that lifestyle. In communities associated with cattle projects the benefits in terms of employment and activity are seen as very important. Income generated from a project was also consistently cited as a key benefit derived from such projects. It is difficult to gauge the level of support across a community for individual cattle projects.

Those involved with the project are generally very positive about the benefits accrued and the merits of the project continuing. Outside of the cattle project, however, support can be low. Many people feel that cattle projects attract more than their fair share of funding support. A further complication is that people outside of the project can be reluctant to criticise if they are not traditional owners of the country. Many older men involved with cattle projects complain that the young men are no longer interested in carrying on the work because of problems with grog and other interests. However, many pastoral projects are the focus of work and other activities for the young men and are therefore seen as a way to overcome problems such as alcohol or substance abuse. These positive aspects of pastoral projects were often mentioned by the women from a community. In many situations the expectations of the benefits which might be gained from setting up cattle projects can be unrealistically high. In some areas there also appears to be a lack of knowledge about the responsibilities and requirements of people involved in pastoral enterprises at a number of levels.

Many cattle company directors are not aware of their legal liabilities and of the roles required of them in the running of the cattle company. Managers often have poor financial management skills and tend to focus on animal management rather than land management. Aboriginal stockmen place an emphasis on animal handling skills but lack the desire to take on further tasks such as those requiring technical expertise. The Aboriginal cattle projects which were approached during this research were usually small ventures carrying relatively low stock numbers. Discussion about management plans and strategies for management during drought was limited indicating that these issues were of little concern to these projects. There is generally little preparation for management in dry times as decisions are made on the spur of the moment, rather than on the basis of a longer term plan. Some cattle projects have been run with little or no funding support from outside bodies. In some cases this has occurred by choice as the managers of the project feel that funding lessens their control. Several cattle projects have refused to apply for funding on these grounds. The long history of innapropriate projects being imposed on communities and the bureaucratic requirements of funding agencies has limited Aboriginal perceptions of the possibilities for managing the direction of projects themselves.

Very few people have a clear idea of where they fit into a picture which is clouded with a plethora of government departments, each of which has its own area of responsibility and may be represented by a different face each time it visits the community. For many people project funding has meant that a management regime is imposed from outside. As a result opportunities to manage projects for themselves, learn from their own failures, and be accountable for their own actions, have been limited.

Recommendations

It is recommended that: The future development of Aboriginal and pastoral projects involve detailed consultation over Aboriginal aspirations, perceptions and skills and that these factors should be central to any further planning for pastoral development. It is recommended that ATSIC and the Central Land Council: Continue to support the development of pastoral operations which are desired by Aboriginal landowners only where pastoralism: can be managed sustainably within environmental constraints and within the context of other desired land uses and the aspirations and skills of all community members. is recognised as one part of a suite of activities which may be undertaken on Aboriginal properties, Carry out further economic and environmental research into the sustainability of pastoral land use with reference to: the costs and benefits of a range of models for pastoral activity which integrate with other land uses, integrating commercial aspects with social and cultural benefits. Play a central role in the development and implementation of training and education programs focusing on: training for cattle company directors emphasising liabilities and responsibilities, financial and land management skills for cattle project managers, technical and management information for cattle company workers.