Meeting renews push for federal buffel grass action, National Farmers Federation oppose move

A Red Centre meeting has reignited debate about around an invasive grass. While some call it a weed, to others it’s a ‘feed of national significance’. Find out why.

Representatives from government, environment groups, and ranger groups at Uluru look at where buffel grass has recently been managed. Picture: Supplied

One of Australia’s most iconic landmarks covered in an invasive weed has calls coming from as far as South Australia for a federal declaration on the grass – but not all are in favour.

A two-day workshop at Yulara brought Northern Territory Indigenous rangers, environmental groups, and community members together with government representatives from the state and federal level, who now want to see buffel grass declared a weed of national significance.

Attending the workshop was SA state buffel grass co-ordinator Troy Bowman, who said buffel grass around Uluru was “quite thick and dense”.

“Unfortunately, the scale and density of the issue is a barrier, so the operational activities do require additional investment,” he said.

“One of the key things that we’re working towards is national recognition of buffel grass because no weed respects our borders.”

Echoing the calls was traditional healer Cyril McKenzie, who said “we need more teams to come and help us spray this buffel grass”.

“Buffel grass is making us sad, not only here but across Australia.”

Central Australian tourist attractions have slowly become smothered in buffel grass – despite the hard work of local rangers such as Paddy Laughton.

Arrernte Man and Stride Resources director Paddy Laughton talks to NT Regional Weeds Manager Chris Brown and James Aitken from Parks Australia at the base of Uluru. Picture: Supplied

“You can’t take younger people to our significant areas and special places because there’s too much buffel now,” he said.

“How can we teach them about the landscape when there’s no landscape to look at anymore?” he said.

Mr Laughton is the director of Stride Resources, whose company conducts buffel grass mitigation works at Uluru and Kata Tjuta.

“When our old people grew up there was no buffel grass – now its everywhere taking over our wildlife and wildflowers, and there’s nothing left,” he said.

A vehicle in Mutitjulu with buffel grass throughout the chassis. Picture: Supplied

“Those buffel grass fires are much worse than normal fires, it goes a long way through the country now and kills everything.”

The push for a federal declaration comes months after buffel grass was declared a weed earlier this year in the NT, nearly 10 years after the same declaration was made in SA in 2015.

Arid Lands Environment Centre policy officer Alex Vaughan also attended the Yulara meeting, and said with buffel grass spreading into every state bar Tasmania, federal action was needed now.

Buffel grass at Emily Gap, just outside of Alice Springs. Picture: Gera Kazakov

“We need co-ordination and resourcing across the country, because we want to keep conservation areas, our national parks and sites of cultural significance healthy,” he said. “We know that buffalo grass invasion is contributing to the ecosystem collapse in these areas and is promoting fire and is transforming biodiverse landscapes into monocultures of buffel grass.”

On the other hand, farmers – who weren’t at the meeting – are calling for the opposite declaration, National Farmers Federation sustainable development and climate change committee chair Angus Atkinson said.

“Our members would much rather see it listed as a feed of national significance,” he said.

“Calls to list buffel grass as a weed of national significance pre-emptively ignores the economic benefits it provides to thousands of producers across Australia.”

“Weed of national significance status should only be reserved for where there is consensus for listing, national co-ordination or assistance for eradication.

“There is no consensus on buffel grass, farmers do not support this.”