Personally, I¹m more concerned by issues such as climate change, land
degradation and clearing. Large monocultures of crops worry me as do the
damage hard-hooved animals do to fragile soils. Unlike diverse woodland,
crops such as wheat can have adverse regional effects on climate, increasing
aridity, extremes of temperature and the occurrence of more violent weather.
On Indigenous people - some months ago I mentioned the case of a man charged
for collecting the eggs of native birds in Gunbalunya, Arnhem Land. He
recruited Aboriginal men to collect, for instance, the eggs of Peregrine
Falcon. They were then exported, and he mentioned an American university
as one of the recipients. My informant, an ex-detective sergeant , was
disgusted, not only with the offence, but that the man was an ex-police
officer. What an example to set to the locals!
In Arnhem Land my relatives changed their behaviour when I began bringing in
birdwatchers and other natural history enthusiasts. For example, they put
their most productive billabong out of bounds for hunting. Perhaps
birdwatchers down south ought to examine ways of involving Indigenous people
in their activities.
As for rubbish. An alderman on Darwin City Council in the 1980s I pointed
out that anyone believing Indigenous people were mostly to blame, should
visit fishing spots, landings not used mostly by non-Indigenous people. Oh,
there was one case where Indigenous people camping on a beach near Fannie
Bay, were definitely to blame. It turned out they were smashing flagons on
the nearby road. Why? Because white youths would drive down to the camp at
night and shoot at the campers. The campers were trying to prevent the cars
from getting near them.
The rubbish lying around the bush in Palmerston where I live, is absolutely
incredible lounge suites, abandoned cars, kitchen furniture, heaps of palm
fronds household refuse, building materials. Every time we go out we find
some new load. I bet very few Indigenous people are to blame for that!
Having visited my relatives in Arnhem Land and seen how well run outstations
can be when families are intact and there is no substance abuse, the NT
President and EO of the Council on the Ageing were impressed, and were
instrumental in getting the national body to support families on
outstations. Perhaps birdwatchers ought to join the National Council on the
Ageing in their support. Even Gunbalunya is getting its act together, now
that alcohol use and petrol-sniffing is reduced.
Denise
on 17/2/08 2:31 PM, Chris Brandis at wrote:
> Well Denise they do not do this on the south coast of NSW where the threatened
> nesting Little Terns have been raided by Aboriginal kids who sell the chicks
> and claim it is their heritage to do so. And the adults who go out in a 15 ft
> powered dingys and use scuba gear to gather 1000s of under size abalone
> claiming natural hunting rights.
> The rubbish around Aboriginal housing, even up in the NT, indicates to me that
> they generally have the same disregard to nature as most whites.
> Cheers Chris
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