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Article in The Australian, August 20-21, 2005, p. 8
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Northern Cattle Property Prices Hot up
As Sydney property prices fall, Northern Farm Prices skyrocket
Cattle properties in northern Western Australia, the Northern Territory and Cape York Peninsula that were argued to be marginal are now worth millions due to the changing climate and drought.
There are mixed results for Indigenous communities from the hot pressure on cattle property. On the one hand it is good news. The properties that were raped and pillaged of all assets and handed back to Indigenous communities in W.A., NT and Cape York are now worth significantly more than anybody could have anticipated a decade or even a year ago. Properties that were seen as marginal are now valuable. So this is good news. But on the other side of the coin it will be more competitive to buy back traditional country and there will be great pressure from unscrupulous cattle operators to gain leasehold and agistment rights from Indigenous communities. It is very important that Indigenous communities carefully consider any offers that are made to them. It is important to get a range of advise from people who are expert in the cattle industry and not just the usual accountants, bankers and lawyers.
The other good news is for traditional Indigenous cattle men. Many have argued that cattle properties are marginal assets and that new industries have to be created and that the only prospects of work are outside remote and regional areas in the North. The move north by the cattle industry makes a mockery of this argument. Cattle may be a mainstream industry of the North as cattle men seek the benefits of the Wet Season to grown their animals. This will also bring great pressures on the environment.
The alliance of Indigenous cattlemen and environmental groups will be all important in this context. Indigenous knowledge of traditional country and waterholes and what can and can't bear grazing will become a golden asset as time goes by.
The report which has drawn attention to these issues is based on Global Warming predictions of the CSIRO. CSIRO data indicates that rainfall in southeastern Australia is likely to decrease by 10 per cent in 2030. It also predicts more severe droughts and storms. Some dire predictions are that farmers in south eastern Australia would not survive temperature and rainfall changes which will strip billions from rural income.
For more information on these issues download this report from rural management partners. Report on Northern Cattle Prices
For further information
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