Report 17: 2017

Management of Pastoral Lands in Western Australia

Board and agency responses

Pastoral Lands Board

In general terms, the Board supports the broad directions of the report however would like to make the following comments:

  • The Board recognises the significant task it has to ensure pastoral leases are managed responsibly and in a way that does not compromise the important natural asset that is Western Australia’s pastoral estate. This is a complex task involving multiple government and non-government agencies, major private businesses, Indigenous organisations and many individual lessees. In this context, the most successful approach to management of the pastoral estate requires an appropriately resourced and somewhat independent board that can effectively pull the disparate parts of the pastoral industry together;
  • The Board believes that it is essential that “ecological sustainability” as used in the scope of the Performance Audit must be examined within a pastoral context. Pastoral lessees are statutorily required to manage their leases by applying methods of best pastoral and environmental management practice, and the Board has a role in ensuring that this occurs. Any industry reliant on the presence of native vegetation, such as pastoralism, has a vested interest in ensuring sustainable use of natural resources; a key challenge in the context of a lease that allows for the grazing of non-native animals in an environment which is not well adapted to them along with wild dogs, goats, horses and camels.  Subsequently, pastoral lessees have an incentive to work within a ‘triple bottom line’ management framework; and
  • The Board agrees that additional rangeland condition monitoring, both in the form of satellite monitoring and on ground inspections, would assist it to ensure that pastoral leases are managed on an ecologically sustainable basis. The need for more effective monitoring is broadly supported noting the breadth and scale of the task, contextualised against resourcing and geographical constraints, will necessitate innovative approaches to achieving this objective. The Board and the Department of Planning, Lands and Heritage, in collaboration with the Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development, will explore opportunities to increase the level and effectiveness of monitoring along with recording and dissemination of outcomes. This may include better utilisation of technology coupled with partnering with stakeholder or local groups (for example Aboriginal Ranger programs) to improve the effectiveness of the monitoring regime.

Department of Planning, Lands and Heritage

The Department of Planning, Lands and Heritage (DPLH) in general terms supports the key findings of the report, subject to a number of minor comments against some of the individual findings.

DPLH accepts all of the recommendations made in the report, noting that implementing a number of the recommendations by the suggested timeframes will ultimately be a function of available resources. DPLH and the Pastoral Lands Board (PLB) have already commenced implementing several recommendations, including:

  • Finalising a Memorandum of Understanding in relation to service provision to the PLB from both DPLH and the Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development (DPIRD);
  •   Supporting the PLB to define an Action Plan to implement its Strategic Plan;
  • Assisting the PLB to draft a policy on the interpretation of ecological sustainability in the context of pastoral land, with supporting guidance for pastoral managers on good practice land management; and
  • Engaging at senior level with DPIRD, the Department of Water and Environmental Regulation (DWER) and the Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions (DBCA) in relation to interagency approvals processes for diversified economic activities on pastoral land.

DPLH notes that the report explicitly acknowledges the impacts of non-pastoral land uses on rangeland condition, and consequently the need for collaboration between the different parts of Government, pastoralists, third party land users, and Aboriginal people to deliver improved rangeland condition outcomes.

Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development

The Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development (DPIRD) acknowledges the findings of the Performance Audit: Management of Pastoral Lands and appreciates the recognition of past performance in this area and recognition of current improvements. DPIRD is committed to processes of continuous improvement in performance and cost-effective management of pastoral lands.

The primary responsibility for DPIRD in the management of pastoral lands, is in the administration of the Soil and Land Conservation Act and in providing advice to the agency responsible for administrating the Land Administration Act.

With respect to the recommendation regarding pastoral lease level monitoring (Recommendation 3a), this will require development of new approaches incorporating remote sensing and ground monitoring. This needs a significant research and development component, including the establishment of ground monitoring sites for calibration and validation of any operational system.

This is new work that will require significant additional resources as the existing monitoring system will need to be maintained while new systems are developed and made operational.

The preparation of policies and guidelines on degradation prevention and good practice management techniques (Recommendation 3b and c) is a shared responsibility. Not-for-profit groups such as Rangelands NRM, Territory NRM and other private entities provide information to assist pastoralists to better manage the rangeland.

With respect to an inter-agency approval process (Recommendation 3d) this government has responded and a more effective cross-government approach has now commenced to facilitate a more streamlined process for permits.

Page last updated: October 11, 2017

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