Editor’s view: Getting the balance right on K’gari

This week’s dingo attack on K’gari was the latest in a long line of incidents. If we don’t find a solution to how visitors to the island and dingoes can co-exist, we may risk losing access to it forever, writes the Editor.

Clearly we have a problem with dingoes on K’gari (Fraser Island). The challenge is that any solution will not be an easy.

The attack this week on a 23-year-old woman, who was set upon by a dingo pack and chased into the surf must have been a terrifying ordeal. She was bitten 30 times.

Yet it was only the latest in a long line of incidents that go back decades. K’gari, a haven for the last remaining packs of pure dingoes on Australia’s eastern seaboard, drew international attention in April 2001 when nine-year-old Clinton Gage wandered away from his family and was mauled to death.

Each incident since has sparked another round of public discussion on how to handle this delicate relationship between these wild and carnivorous animals and humans who like to visit their habitat.

Dingoes and tourists on the beach at K’gari this week. Picture: Liam Kidston

The Queensland Parks and Wildlife Service has been consistent in its advice over the years, requesting the public give a wide berth to these animals and never feed or interact with them at any level. But a key problem in ensuring tourists adhere to that advice is the appearance of the dingoes.

Descended from Southeast Asian wolves, they so closely resemble our own beloved canine pets many of us instinctively treat them accordingly – throwing a ball or feeding them a scrap of meat from the barbecue.

Clearly there has to be a stronger emphasis on the dangers associated with dingoes and the necessity of keeping a respectful distance. That there are some people who still think it reasonable to seek a “selfie’’ with a dingo is just one indication the warnings still go unheeded. Would you take a selfie with a wild American black bear?

Perhaps international experience can be drawn upon to better craft policies to pursue this idea. Many communities in the US and Canada in the early 20th century realised many bear communities were in danger of extinction. Through legislation and widely disseminated information and education programs, bear populations now are not only healthy, but contributing significantly to tourism revenues.

Hikers in areas where they are known to be bears have become well educated on how to behave when encountering one of them – and so the dangers are reduced.

Yet it’s clear we in Queensland have not displayed the same determination to address the problem presented by dingoes.

As we report today, a review that followed a spate of dingo attacks on K’gari in 2019 provided 42 recommendations. At least 10 of those are still to be implemented, and most relate to containment.

Despite the growing number of attacks, rangers on the island have rejected outright calls to cull the dingo population. That is fair, as it reflects a growing awareness and appreciation of the natural world.

The attitude of many of our forebears in relation to wildlife has clearly been superseded by a more enlightened approach. In the 19th and early 20th centuries, many animals were shot indiscriminately, often even those which posed no real threat to human life.

Now, quite rightly, most Queenslanders place a high value on our native fauna – and try to integrate the presence of animals into our lives in a manner that benefits us all, further enhancing our enviable lifestyles.

Clearly, it’s up to all of us to work towards a resolution to this problem. If we don’t, we run the risk of compromising our long and enduring relationship with K’gari – a place not only unquestionably one of the most beautiful places on planet Earth, but also one which hosts a precious resource of native still-wild animals.

MATILDAS TO INSPIRE THE NATION

The old saying about the impact of female role models contends that “you can’t be what you can’t see”.

Well, there will hardly be a girl in Australia who over the next four weeks will not only get to see our world-beating national women’s soccer team the Matildas, but also to be inspired by them.

You can’t get a seat at any of the venues that the Matildas play at in the FIFA Women’s World Cup between now and August 20 – including next Thursday against Nigeria at Suncorp Stadium.

It is all a long way from the days where elite women’s sport was solely an amateur pursuit followed by only the most dedicated fans.

There is, of course, still a journey ahead of us – as shown by the squad taking to social media to call out on the eve of the tournament the discrepancy in male and female prizemoney at this World Cup, which at five times what was on offer at the last event four years ago is still about a third of the total for the men at their 2022 World Cup.

But that campaign takes a back seat tonight as the world will watch more than 80,000 Australians pack Sydney’s Olympic Stadium for the Matildas’ first game, against Ireland – likely the sixth biggest crowd ever to watch a women’s football match.

It is indeed inspiring stuff – and it will unite our nation. Go Matildas!

Responsibility for election comment is taken by Chris Jones, corner of Mayne Rd & Campbell St, Bowen Hills, Qld 4006. Printed and published by NEWSQUEENSLAND (ACN 009 661 778). Contact details are available at www.couriermail.com.au/help/contact-us