R.M. Williams Agricultural Holdings (RMWAH) has apparently just purchased Henbury Station, on the Sturt Highway 125km south of Alice Springs. The 5,168 square kilometre station has an extensive creek and river system (including Finke and Palmer River frontage) and has 15 permanent waterholes. It was for sale through Elders – after being passed in at auction in May 2009 it was put on the market for an ambitious $19 million. At that time Henbury was listed with 10,000 head of Santa Gertrudis/Shorthorn cross cattle.
Henbury Station joins the northern NT cattle stations purchased earlier by RMWAH, La Belle Downs and Welltree, with a combined acreage of 99,400 hectares and an estimated carrying capacity of 30,000 head. RMWAH also owns the Mirage Plains cropping and grazing aggregation on the Warrego River south of Cunnamulla (SW Qld) and Inglewood farms, a large-scale organic poultry enterprise in SE Qld.
An unusually varied and widely spread property portfolio.
Additional information, 26 July 2011:
Today an ABC report mentions the sale of Henbury Station to RMWAH and states that two thirds of the $13 million purchase price is being paid by the Federal Government – funding for a ‘National Reserve’ received under the ‘Caring For Our Country’ Scheme (very Gillard/Rudd-sounding, isn’t it.) It is stated the 17,000 head of cattle (there were 10,000 listed when it was up for sale a couple of years ago) will be removed by December 2011 and the property ‘revegetated’, but it’s not clear what this means exactly. While I have not been to Henbury station I doubt very much that it has ever been cleared, in fact it is probably a typical central Australian property – some areas of scrubby trees (hardy species such as gidyea and desert oaks) and native vegetation that even in great seasons is not exactly profuse. So what exactly would ‘revegetation’ mean? Planting spinifex or acres of bluegums? More puzzling and alarming is the statement: “The project is being touted as a pilot that could lead to other farms across the nation being similarly converted.” Converted to what? De-populated regions running feral camels instead of domesticated species destined to feed people? Converted to ‘parks’ whose chief aim is to help frequent flier greens sleep well at night because they ticked the ‘carbon offset’ box when booking their flight online, while tiny struggling communities shrink even further?
It has to be said. Without any information to the contrary, the whole thing has the wiff of fashionable and speculative band-wagon jumping.
The R.M. William’s Ag website states that there is an aim to build a conservation corridor between NT national parks and mention is made of the proximity of La Belle Downs and Welltree to other national parks, such as Litchfield. Given that the Territory would have the most intact biodiversity out of any state or territory in Australia due to the relatively low population (less acres of urban sprawl involving acres of cement and lawns across our narrow but biodiverse coastal fringe) relative lack of farming (as in crop growing) and predominance of extensive grazing (in harmony with native plants and animals), it is unfortunate that RMWAH has chosen the Northern Territory for what would be a great idea, elsewhere. For example, Far North Queensland’s wet tropics region would be an infinitely more worthy cause for the building of a solid conservation corridor given the huge biodiversity contained within a relatively tiny and increasingly fragmented ecosystem. Rainforest regions are in real danger in future of being ‘loved to death’ – under increasing pressure due to urban encroachment (Mission Beach is a classic example of environmental vandalism), high voltage powerlines cutting swathes through narrow connecting corridors of rainforest, burgeoning weed incursions (especially problematic after cyclone Larry then Yasi) and the agriculture that exists in Queensland’s wet tropics is mostly high-density cropping – monocultures that involve the clearing of the majority of native trees and other plants (i.e. the eviction of virtually all native wildlife, by necessity). Whereas the Northern Territory already has massive areas set aside as national parks, and millions of additional sparsely populated hectares that are not used to run domesticated animals.
Late this afternoon a new page appeared on the ‘Henbury Conservation Project’ on the The Department of Sustainability, Environment, Water, Population & Communities (yes, the title is that long) website. Just like the academic spoutings on the sanctimonious ‘saving’ of Cravens Peak station in south western Queensland by ‘Bush Heritage’, the Federal Government DSEWPC waxes lyrical about the fabulous biodiversity on Henbury station then proceeds to say how great it is that it will now be conserved and the wildlife saved.
Pastoral settlement on Henbury Station began in 1875. The DSEWPC even states that ‘ 70% of the huge property remains largely in its natural condition’. If running domesticated livestock on Henbury for more than a century ruined the environment, then clearly there would be nothing left to ‘save’ by now?
The DSEWPC website also states:
“R.M.Williams Agricultural Holdings will manage Henbury to enhance carbon sequestration. With cattle removed, the company will actively manage fire, water, weeds and feral animals to encourage natural revegetation. The process of natural revegetation will remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, storing carbon in the soil and native plants.
The company plans to sequestrate up to 1.5 million tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions per year for the next 10-15 years. The aim is to establish a model for generating biodiverse carbon credits to fund ongoing conservation management and to generate new sustainable income streams.”
I can’t think of anything to say to that, I’m speechless. All I can think of is the story of the Emperor’s New Clothes. The DSEWPC website even mentions offsetting carbon credits by ticking a box when booking airline travel (all because there’s a few more cotton bushes growing in central Australia). It’s utter, utter madness, the whole scheme has been dreamt up by city-based investors and investment companies; brokers and futures traders etc, and promoted by an out-of-control federal government that the majority of Australians didn’t vote for. Just as we can’t eat coal, we can’t eat carbon credits either.
Tags: Australian cattle stations, Australian Beef Industry, Pastoral companies, Rural properties for sale and ownership, Conservation and the environment