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Alpine Grazing Supports Tradition And Management

The Nationals believe that Victoria’s alpine grazing licences should be renewed as soon as possible, to aid the management of the State’s public land and ensure that one of Australia’s great traditions continues.

By Peter Hall - 20th May 2005 - Back to News

In a motion put to State Parliament this week by Gippsland MP Peter Hall, The Victorian Nationals have called on the State Government to immediately renew the licences.

The Nationals have also called on the State to guarantee the continuation of grazing and selective timber harvesting in the Barmah Forest, and to abandon plans for a toxic waste dump at Hattah-Nowingi in Victoria's Mallee region.

Mr Hall put the case for renewal of the grazing licences in Parliament, calling for the retention of an alpine grazing tradition that is a lasting example of Australia’s rich cultural history.

"Internationally, Australian folklore is intrinsically associated with the Man from Snowy River, the Banjo Paterson poem that depicted high country grazing in Victoria," Mr Hall told Parliament.

"Such is the recognition of the Man from Snowy River and high country grazing that it was represented at the opening of the Sydney 2000 Olympics.

"That was no coincidence; it was chosen by the Olympic organising committee as something that is internationally recognised as an Australian icon."

Mr Hall said as a relatively young nation, Australia needed to preserve traditions such as high country grazing as precious links to the past.

"We in Victoria should feel doubly proud that the rich imagery of high country grazing is so widely recognised, because it comes from our great state."

Mr Hall told Parliament that high country grazing was a traditional use of alpine land that dates back some 170 years and continues because of the "sound stewardship" of the alpine environment by those involved.

"In the cattlemen community we have a group of people who care for the environment, who have an affinity with Victoria’s high country and who look after it with a profound sense of stewardship." he said.

"We are now faced with a real threat that that tradition will be consigned to the history books, due to the Victorian Government’s current review of the grazing licences that remain in the Alpine National Park.

Mr Hall also pointed out that newspaper polls had suggested overwhelming support for high country grazing and that grazing had minimal impact on the high country environment.

"Whilst radical environmentalists would have us believe that cattle are running riot in the Alpine National Park each summer, the reality is far different.

"In reality, cattle only graze on a very small proportion of the Park and cattle numbers are limited so that there is only one beast per 40 hectares during the short summer grazing period.

"Some people are advocating the banning of grazing in the park because of its impact," Mr Hall said.

"However, if you consider all the other factors that impact on the ecosystems of the National Park, feral animals, weeds, recreational and commercial activities for example, you can quickly see that the impacts of grazing are negligible.

"The Nationals believe that the continuation of alpine grazing in the Alpine National Park will ensure that our alpine land will continue to be responsibly managed and an important tradition will be preserved.

"We will always have to consider the balance between protecting the environment and protecting the valuable cultural heritage that we still have.

"I think the appropriate balance is already there in the Alpine National Park.

Source: http://gippsland.com/

Published by: news@gippsland.com

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