Doing Right by Country

Many pastoralists in northwest Queensland are trying to rid their cattle stations of prickly trees. They are ‘battling’ to destroy these prickly plant species because they have been deemed by government agencies not to ‘belong’ to this part of the country. These plants are not ‘native’ and are thriving, thus they have been labelled ‘alien invasive species’. This rhetoric effectively renders the landscape into a battleground and transforms land management into an act of perpetual war against non-native species. For most pastoralists and government bodies, this annihilation effort serves the higher purpose of protecting the integrity of the nation and ‘doing right by country’. However, one group of pastoralists are thinking of themselves as grass or soil farmers. This allows for decisions regarding particular species to be consciously connected to context, rather than based on a blurry overarching vision of what belongs,and what doesn’t, in the Australian pastoral regions. Attention to context, and the ability to view the land as an amiable partner, rather than a troublesome fiend, is vital in addressing the problems of species loss and ecological balance caused by invasive species.