Report 17: 2017

Management of Pastoral Lands in Western Australia

Audit conclusion

The ecological sustainability of pastoral lands is not adequately protected by the State’s current system of land monitoring and administration. Pastoral lands have been under threat for over 75 years and during that time there has been limited progress to halt the decline in pastoral land condition.

Current knowledge of the environmental condition of individual leases is poor. A reduction in the scope of monitoring since 2009 and limited use of remote sensing tools has contributed to a lack of understanding of land condition at the lease level, and restricted visibility of the extent of land condition issues across the pastoral estate. Future sustainability of the pastoral industry and the Crown’s land estate relies on being able to make informed decisions on how to address existing issues and prevent new ones.

The lead up to the 2015 lease renewal process resolved a significant number of outstanding land condition compliance issues. Since then, DPLH has adopted a pastoral liaison approach to its compliance work. However, this work is not well documented and does not provide good visibility into the extent of land condition issues or what is being done to address them. A rigorous documented compliance program is essential to ensure appropriate stewardship of Crown land.

A lack of support and guidance is impeding opportunities to achieve social, environmental and financial outcomes for pastoral businesses and their surrounding communities. There is a need for the PLB, DPLH and DPIRD to explore opportunities to provide guidance to lessees on good practice land management and streamline diversification processes to protect our valuable pastoral estate and address these issues.

Page last updated: October 11, 2017

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