Remote Australia Online

As part of the survey of stakeholder perspectives on camel management, a survey was conducted on Aboriginal community perspectives on feral camels, their impacts and management. The objective was: - to identify the range of perspectives among selected Aboriginal communities - to enable an effective participatory camel management strategy to be developed - to promote education on camel issues. The research was carried out using qualitative methods involving two case studies and a wide-ranging survey. The main data collection method was face-to-face semi-structured interviews. Questions used as the basis for the interviews addressed people’s: - perceptions of feral camels and their presence - perspectives on the impacts of feral camels (including environmental, socio-cultural and economic dimensions) - involvement in, and attitudes towards, different camel management options. The methods drew upon community-based participatory research principles, with local people assisting in the research process. The Camel Book, produced by Tangentyere Landcare, was used to give community members information about camel numbers, impacts and management options.

Burnt area data, derived from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer (AVHRR) imagery, are validated in 11 regions of arid and semi-arid Australia, using three separate Landsat-derived burnt area data sets. Mapping accuracy of burnt extent is highly variable between areas and from year to year within the same area. Where there are corresponding patches in the AVHRR and Landsat data sets, the fit is good. However, the AVHRR data set misses some large patches. Overall, 63% of the Landsat burnt area is also mapped in the AVHRR data set, but this varies from 0% to 89% at different sites. In total, 81% of the AVHRR burnt area data are matched in the Landsat data set, but range from 0% to 94%. The lower match rates (<50%) are generally when little area has burnt (0–500 km2), with figures generally better in the more northerly sites. Results of regressions analysis based on 10 km×10 km cells are also variable, with R2 values ranging from 0.37 (n=116) to 0.94 (n=85). For the Tanami Desert scene, R2 varies from 0.41 to 0.61 (n=368) over three separate years. Combining the data results in an R2 of 0.60 (n=1315) (or 0.56 with the intercept set to 0). The slopes of the regressions indicate that mapping the burnt area from AVHRR imagery underestimates the ‘true’ extent of burning for all scenes and years. Differences in mapping accuracy between low and high fire years are examined, as well as the influence of soil, vegetation, land use and tenure on mapping accuracy. Issues which are relevant to mapping fire in arid and semi-arid environments and discontinuous fuels are highlighted.

Fire plays a role in determining the shape of the earth's ecosystems, impacts socio-economic issues, and influences our climate. In arid and semi-arid Australia (70% of the continent), individual fires frequently exceed 1 million ha, and have collectively burnt up to 9% of the total area in a single year, associated with antecedent periods of above average rainfall which boost the fuel load. People affected by these fires – Federal and State governments, pastoralists, Aboriginal communities, larger towns, conservation park managers and tourist operators – all have different outlooks and priorities about these phenomena. Little objective information about the fire regime and its drivers has been available for this vast area with its very low population density. A predictive understanding of the spatial and temporal pattern of risk of large uncontrollable fires is needed to promote pro-active management. We present a conceptual framework which serves both to summarise existing knowledge and to reduce the complexity for a quantitative statistical analysis. This conceptual framework contains four main groups of independent variables; biomass, curing, ignition source, and fire weather. For these groups of variables we identified direct data sources or spatial surrogates. To quantify different aspects of the fire regime, interpretation of NOAA-AVHRR satellite imagery was employed, which identifies both fire hotspots (FHS) and fire affected area (FAA). For temporal variables, we present a surface displaying relationships for different combinations of lag/phase. This highlights different patterns for each region, and the most appropriate timeframes to use in modelling. Results of exploratory regression analysis in arid and semi-arid Australia show that the strongest influence is exerted by biomass or fuel load. As this is highly dependent on antecedent rainfall, we can anticipate a strong effect of climate change on the fire regime. The strongest combinations of relationships may be used as spatial indicators in the development of long-lead fire risk models for these areas. This can help improve the timing of pro-active strategies to manage fire, and in the allocation of sparse funds and resources. Our analysis has highlighted regional patterns of fire across different land tenures. Heightened awareness of these patterns may encourage a more cooperative and coordinated approach to fire management amongst stakeholders.

Fire is a crucial element in shaping our world, whether of natural or anthropogenic origin. These fires can have both positive and negative consequences and impacts on our natural environment, society and its economics, not to mention global climate. Previous analyses of fire regimes in arid and semi-arid Australia have been of limited spatial or temporal extent. This lack of knowledge has hampered attempts at effective fire management. Satellite imagery allows the continuous detection, monitoring and mapping of fires. Active fires can be detected as fire hotspots, and burned areas mapped as patches from the change of surface reflectance properties in successive images. Data from NOAA’s advanced very high resolution radiometer (AVHRR) were used to assess the distribution, seasonality, frequency, number and extent of fire hotspots (FHS) and fire affected areas (FAA) across the entire arid and semi-arid country of Australia from 1998 to 2004. Utilising both of these fire datasets is important, as they complement each other and provide a more robust analysis of fire patterns. Between 1998 and 2004 almost 27% of arid and semi-arid Australia burnt at least once. The main trends in fire distribution follow latitudinal rainfall gradients. Regression analysis also shows a strong relationship with the pattern of antecedent rainfall. The seasonality of fire events varies between climate zones in accordance with the varying distribution of precipitation and temperature, which influence fuel accumulation and curing. For the first time we have a picture of fire patterns across the entire arid and semi-arid regions of the country. This includes several high fire years in certain areas following above-average rainfall. This analysis highlights similarities and differences between regions, giving policy makers and managers a basis from which to make more informed decisions in the present, and with which to compare future regimes.

This project provides an objective, continental and regional perspective, on fire regimes across the arid and semi-arid regions of Australia for the period 1998 to 2004, using data derived from the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer (AVHRR) satellite sensor. A fundamental aim is to describe the different spatial and temporal patterns of recent fire regimes. Another is to increase our understanding of their causes through statistical analyses, to help explain these different patterns in an effort to increase our forecasting capability. This research will help to gain a predictive understanding of the spatial and temporal pattern of risk of large uncontrollable fires, which can assist in the effort of pro-active management. Clearly, validating the fire data is also an important component of this research.

The principal contention of this paper is that the traditional approach to park management is inadequate to deal with the contemporary goals of protected areas, in particular, biodiversity conservation, cultural heritage management and the management of socio-economic development within parks. This is particularly true for parks in remote regions like Central Australia, where management on a broader scale is required. The benefits of park management embracing a regional approach to development and conservation are examined. This paper also identifies some serious restrictions to development. Parks rely heavily on abstract management plans, and do not have a transparent framework through which to set objectives and targets. These objectives would allow parks to evaluate their organisation’s performance. Iconic landscape assets dominate the tourism economy in Central Australia. The number of different institutions managing parks has hampered the establishment of a valuation framework. This framework would allow regional resource allocation decisions to be assessed and parks’ performances to be monitored. Proper assessment and monitoring would strengthen the case for additional park funding to pursue conservation and development responsibilities.

Held at the Desert Lantern Restaurant, Charles Darwin University, Alice Springs Campus, Thursday 2nd December, 2004. This appendix includes the content of morning presentations at the workshop. Alicia Boyle recorded the content of the presentations and Pascal Tremblay summarised them.

Held at the Desert Lantern Restaurant, Charles Darwin University, Alice Springs Campus, Thursday 2nd December, 2004. Participants in the workshop were provided with a briefing paper, the content of which mainly entailed a description of the scoping process and a literature survey which included multiple quotes from the small number of sources on the topic. The bulk of the pre-workshop briefing paper and detailed quotes are included in this appendix.

The main objective of this report is to suggest research directions for the Desert Knowledge CRC. In order to do this, two basic questions have been investigated: 1. Is ‘desert tourism’ a topic worthy of research (and has it been researched as such previously)? 2. Does ‘desert tourism’ constitute a worthy component of ‘Desert Knowledge’ and if so, how should it be approached?

We present a new stage-structured model activated in Excel to project potential impacts of grazing and rainfall (drought) over up to 500 years on population numbers of trees and shrubs in the Australian chenopod rangelands. The model is based on functional types rather than species so that it can be used on any species of tree or shrub, and includes the effects of grazing pressure of four herbivore species: sheep, rabbits, goats or kangaroos. Rainfall (either modelled or real rainfall records) is then included as another variable. The model can be set to run in stages with different herbivore intensities to model the effects of management interventions such as spelling of paddocks and control of feral herbivores. Users may also create various climate-change scenarios by editing the rainfall file.

We present a new stage-structured model, called SHRUBPOP, for projecting potential impacts of grazing and rainfall (drought) over periods of up to 500 years on populations of trees and shrubs in the Australian chenopod rangelands. Created in Microsoft Excel®, the model is based on functional groups rather than species so that it can be used, with or without modification, for any species of tree or shrub. It includes the effects of grazing pressure of four herbivore species: sheep, rabbits, goats and kangaroos. Rainfall (either modelled or real rainfall records) can be included as another variable. Model runs can be repeated in series, with different herbivore intensities, using the end population numbers of the previous run as the starting numbers for the next run, to model the effects of management interventions such as spelling of paddocks and control of feral herbivores. By using different rainfall data, various climate-change scenarios may also be created. It is simple to adjust the parameter files to model populations of species from other regions and for different climate conditions, or for the effects of grazing by other herbivores, such as cattle.

Small businesses in desert Australia are disadvantaged by remoteness from suppliers and markets, workforce problems, and limited opportunities to explore alliances across the desert. This paper outlines an initiative to support and encourage capacity building in remote desert centres and to create networks to overcome the isolation experienced by desert-based small and medium-sized enterprises. Building on existing local initiatives and seizing the opportunities offered by a range of new information and communication technologies (ICT), businesses are linked together to explore the benefits of networking, to identify possible synergies and opportunities for collaboration, to gain practical ICT and networking skills and confidence in the processes, and create real outcomes for their business. The initiative began with a pilot project focused on training and mentoring business owners and managers in business clustering. In addition to education and training outcomes, this pilot produced more outcomes for the participating businesses than had been anticipated. In the final year $7 million of new business was reported. Many businesses embraced this way of working together to improve competitiveness; as a consequence the networks have continued to operate beyond the life of the pilot project. Several case studies are presented to demonstrate how ICT has been used for the transfer of ideas and knowledge, for collaboration, and to open new commercial opportunities for businesses that arose as a direct result of their participation. Proof of concept has been demonstrated in the value to businesses of this approach to long-distance inter-business cooperation and networking. The paper outlines key findings from the pilot project, including the needs for an appropriate pace of development, mix of technologies used, nurturing of business champions, flexibility, local facilitation, and real business outcomes, among others. These findings are being used to inform future developments in long-distance, cross-border business networking internationally and an expanded project involving nine regions of desert Australia.

Sales of four wheel drive (4WD) recreational vehicles in Australia continue to grow at a faster rate than for other vehicle types. Meanwhile anecdotal reporting suggests there is a growing demand for 4WD tourism experiences to Australia's desert areas. To date there has been no segmentation of 4WD tourism markets and this has encouraged destination marketing organizations and product developers in desert areas to adopt a broad-brushed approach for attracting visitors. In this article we present findings from focus groups and surveys of 4WD enthusiasts conducted at large 4WD shows to propose a segmentation of the market. The findings emphasize that the market is not homogeneous. For desert areas, the Explorer-traveller segment expresses a high favourability for trips there; however, other segments are important. Those directly and indirectly involved in 4WD tourism should benefit from applying this understanding to develop products and experiences which reflect the motivations and experiential aspirations of their target segments.

Four Wheel Drive Tourism in Desert Australia – the charge of the ‘Might Brigade’?

Desert areas account for around 70% of Australia’s landmass but are home to less than 3% of the population. The economies of many desert areas have been described as marginal or peripheral. Tourism is an important economic activity for desert destinations and one sector, four wheel drive tourism, has been gaining increasing attention. This paper examines the spending patterns of four wheel drive visitors to desert regions of the Northern Territory of Australia and compares them to non-four wheel drive leisure visitors for a five year period from 2000 to 2004. In addition to assessing the amount of expenditure (overall and per day), the research investigates whether there were differences in expenditure items and the dispersal of expenditure among destinations. This information can help inform decisions about levels of investment for attracting the four wheel drive market which might be justified, and the types of product opportunities that might arise from a growing market.

Despite mounting evidence suggesting a growing market overall and a widespread desire for experiential trips centred on the ambient attributes of environments, very little is known about the preferences of domestic four wheel drive (4WD) leisure travellers for trips which incorporate different environments such as deserts, alpine, beach and outback areas. With evidence emerging of segments in 4WD tourism markets, destinations currently have no basis for differentiating the environment-related aspirations of 4WD travellers, leaving tourism stakeholders with insufficient evidence-based knowledge for effective marketing and product development activities. This paper reports on research addressing this including surveys of 640 4WD enthusiasts and examination of an existing secondary dataset. The findings suggest consumers are relatively 'locked-in' to particular environment types and, as a group, consider all environments to be favourable for 4WD trips. The implications for destinations and tourism development agencies are that innovative and targeted development and marketing activities which leverage the environment's points of difference in line with traveller preferences are necessary for growing the market and maximising potential economic gains for localised economies.

This is the second in a series of three papers on servicing remote Aboriginal communities for the Desert Knowledge CRC. The first paper suggested that bureaucratic control of programs for servicing desert settlements is inherently too slow in responding to demand, inefficient in the application of resources, and prone to errors introduced through long supply chains. This paper proposes that the direct suppliers of services to desert communities, the organisations in the Indigenous sector,1 have been neglected as an essential component of any plan for improved services. All facets of existence in remote communities are affected by at least one, and often many, Aboriginal not-for-profit organisations. Yet, as the third paper in this series will discuss, they receive little attention in the current policy environment established by the National Indigenous Reform Agreement (COAG 2008). This current paper makes two related points about the sector: firstly, that it has distinct characteristics that deserve recognition (see Rowse 2005); but, secondly, that it is also a unique part of the not-for-profit sector in general. The not-for-profit sector has an important role in Australian public life (see Productivity Commission 2009a). Organisations within the sector often struggle in an unfriendly political and regulatory environment (see Sullivan 2009) and the Indigenous sector shares many of the problems of the sector as a whole. This paper aims both to describe the dimensions and importance of the Indigenous sector, and to explore its position in relation to mainstream community not-for-profit organisations in general. The final paper in this series will argue that the current policy environment established by the National Indigenous Reform Agreement is remiss in neglecting some three decades of experience accumulated by the Indigenous sector and in redirecting the Commonwealth’s responsibilities, which the sector has fulfilled as a proxy, towards state and territory governments.

This paper is the first of three on aspects of Aboriginal remote area public policy to be published by the Desert Knowledge CRC’s project ‘Desert Services that Work’. Taken together, the papers propose that for improved services in desert settlements centralised administration must be reduced, local community controlled not-for-profit organisations should be strengthened, and this should be done by strengthening regional and local governance. This first paper in the series demonstrates that bureaucratic control of programs for servicing desert settlements is inherently too slow in responding to demand, is inefficient in the application of resources, and is prone to errors introduced through long supply chains. It uses as a case study the Regional Partnership Agreement (RPA) entered into by three tiers of government and the not-for-profit organisation Ngaanyatjarra Council in 2005. In 2004 the Australian Government abolished the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Commission (ATSIC) and announced a policy of whole-of-government service delivery to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander settlements. Whole-of-government services were to be coordinated by regional Indigenous Coordination Centres (ICCs). RPAs were proposed as the means to encourage local adaptations in their governance and deliver services within a related framework. Shared Responsibility Agreements (SRAs) were an essential component of RPAs. These required small groups to negotiate changes in behaviour in return for discretionary grant spending (see Cooper 2005, Humpage 2005, McCausland 2005, Sullivan 2007, Strakosch 2009). This paper first sets the scene by briefly describing the region, its people and institutions. It then summarises the RPA with the Western Australian and Australian Governments, analyses why it failed to deliver on its development promise, and concludes by drawing wider lessons for service delivery in remote areas.

Purpose – This paper attempts to replace the understanding of public sector accountability as a linear and hierarchical process with one in which accountability occurs within a network of social relationships. It associates the former approach with the introduction of New Public Management principles in Australian public administration. It investigates the effect of this on the ability of Australia's indigenous people both to access democratic accountability as citizens, and to develop their community organisations as service providers. Design/methodology/approach – The paper is based on field experience with aboriginal community organisations and critical assessment of the literature on this aspect of Australian public administration. Findings – The paper finds that New Public Management approaches in Australian public administration have not led to greater political accountability but the reverse. As a disadvantaged, culturally distinct minority, aboriginal people are the subject of, rather than partners in, accountability regimes which mire their community service organisations in reporting requirements at the expense of practical activity. In some respects Aborigines are dealt with as individual citizen/clients, at other times as a disadvantaged minority group, and third, as culturally distinct polities. Each of these approaches implies different forms of accountability both by Aborigines to the state and by the state to them. Research limitations/implications – This analysis is inherently interpretative rather than exclusively empirical. However, greater efficiency as well as culturally appropriate outcomes can be found by instituting regional regimes of reciprocal accountability. Originality/value – The analysis of developments in public administration is rarely brought to bear on Australian indigenous affairs.

It is widely acknowledged that Indigenous communities in Australia are in crisis (Dodson 2003; Sutton 2001), and it is increasingly recognised that this is a crisis of governance. Anthropological analysis of pre-colonial Aboriginal political life has characterised it as ‘ordered anarchy’ (Hiatt 1986). The introduction of order into anarchy results from the tension between relatedness and autonomy mediated by an ideology of nurturing (Myers 1986). Colonisation of Australia resulted in the coercion of Aboriginal people into settlements – either missions or pastoral enterprises. Since de jure emancipation in the early ’70s, settlements have been nominally under Aboriginal control (Sullivan 1996). The conundrum for post-colonial public policy in Australia, which this paper addresses, is how to effectively service Aboriginal peoples’ needs, encourage the good governance that self-determination requires, institute regimes of respect for civil and human rights within these communities and still remain sensitive to the fact of a continuing lively Aboriginal culture informed by pre-colonial forms of sociality. The Harvard Project on Indian Economic Development (US) appears to hold out the hope of a postcolonial indigenised governance attractive to both government and Indigenous interests. It proposes that there are three pre-requisites for development in Indigenous communities: sovereignty, good institutions (meaning, in this instance, good management), and cultural match (Jorgensen and Taylor 2000; Cornell 2002; Dodson and Smith 2003). This paper takes the Harvard project’s prescriptions as problems rather than solutions and asks whether they are reconcilable with Aboriginal political life and contemporary post-colonial relations in Australia. Indigenous communities are clearly embedded in post-colonial settler relations in multiple ways. Authority in Indigenous life, as much as in post-colonial administration, is layered, contextual, contested and continuously subject to exegesis such that both the totality of the settler state and the essentialised nature of Indigenous groups that confront it are called in question (Benhabib 2002; Tully 1995:10-11; Waldron 1992; Martin 2003:2-6). It is not adequate, this paper suggests, to conceive of Aboriginal culture as a set of institutions that can be translated, in one way or another, into effective organisational structures for self-management or commerce. It proposes disentangling Aboriginal cultural processes from effective organisational structures and linking these only through lines of information sharing, and permission-getting, that is, by robust engagements between incorporated organisations and communal political processes (Martin and Finlayson 1996). Added to this is the need for protection of minority and dissident interests by providing guidelines for the acceptable exercise of authority within an Aboriginal domain.

Australia does not have named dust transporting winds, like most other global dust source regions. Previous studies indicate that Australian dust is transported offshore via two dust paths to the southeast and northwest and that these dust paths are fed by three wind systems associated with the west–east passage of frontal weather systems across the southern half of the continent. This preliminary study uses 2 years of meteorological observations and mean sea level synoptic analyses to quantify the main weather systems and resultant wind systems responsible for dust entrainment and transport in the lower Lake Eyre. Of the 160 dust event days recorded in 2005 and 2006, 51% were associated with fronts and pre-frontal troughs; which generate pre-frontal northerlies, frontal westerlies and post-frontal southerlies that feed dust into the two dust paths. Heat troughs accounted for 24% of dust event days; with pre-trough northerlies and post-trough southerlies and westerlies from thunderstorms feeding the two dust paths. High pressure systems accounted for 22% of dust event days; with southeasterlies entraining most of the dust and low pressure systems account for only 3% of dust event days associated with variable winds. There is a distinct seasonality of dust entrainment; during late (austral) spring to mid summer in the north and extending to summer further south, driven by heating of the southern hemisphere in summer resulting in a poleward shift of fronts, troughs and pressure systems as spring and summer progress.

Livelihoods of the wider community in desert Australia are under pressure and some of the proposals explored in this report may assist small businesses and Aboriginal Australians to advance their livelihoods. This study considers the potential of a community environmental monitoring program, DustWatch, to stimulate livelihoods in desert Australia. Acknowledging that ecosystem and cultural services underpin the sustainability of the environment as well as the health and wellbeing of desert people, communities and industries, this study uses DustWatch as an intermediate focus point between the environment and livelihoods. Using a simple economic supply and demand model, DustWatch is viewed as the conduit through which the suppliers interface with the demanders of ecosystem and cultural service information. The proposed DustWatch Livelihoods model identifies two pathways in which the livelihoods of DustWatchers could be stimulated. The first is through traditional ‘markets’, such as government agencies and regional bodies, which require natural resource monitoring to meet their regional, national or international environmental goals and commitments. The second is through a nontraditional ‘market’, which acknowledges that the media and tourism industry find the outback image desirable. There is potential for inhabitants of desert Australia to access both of these pathways through their membership of DustWatch. Landholders and Aboriginal groups have the capacity and advantage of isolation to offer natural resource monitoring services to governments. This would require new administrative structures to enable either individuals or groups to tender to provide the required data. Small businesses could harness the media and tourist interest expressed in the cultural and environmental significance of desert Australia. Trends in tourist activities suggest that increasing numbers of people are interested in visiting remote rural regions. Groups such as retired caravaners, or 4WDers frequently travel through the desert region. Local businesses are beginning to acknowledge that coastal urban travellers have a positive perception of the outback and are interested in exploring this culture. By embracing and sharing the outback culture, smaller businesses are likely to attract further patronage. The cultural services pathway in the DustWatch model identifies a number of marketing strategies which can be used by local businesses to both enhance their appeal to travellers and to help build connections between urban and rural DustWatchers.

This report provides guidance to the Desert Knowledge CRC (DKCRC) Board and Management of issues in setting up an Australian Desert Brand that could be used to promote products and services from desert regions of Australia. Results are based on a review of the literature and 14 case studies of regional appellation brands and brands developed to demonstrate societal wellbeing in terms of environmental sustainability, social equity and Aboriginal and desert community development. The case studies were classified into product brands, family brands, umbrella brands and marketing alliances. The study showed that branding is important in today’s market environment. Branding is a way of providing a strong identity and will allow businesses to differentiate their service or product offerings from competitors and highlight the unique features of the business or the product. Branding can also encourage consumer loyalty, as in the case of Fairtrade, Robins Foods, Gippsland Natural Enviromeat and other case studies. This is because often consumers identify with brands that reflect their personal values.

This paper provides: • A brief overview of the part of economic theory relevant to understanding the relationship between the consumption of government services and economic development. • A discussion, based on economic theory, of the issues relating to the development of a demand responsive service delivery model for settlements. • A bibliography with brief descriptions of published material that could help researchers who are developing a demand responsive model of service delivery. The task of considering the development of a demand responsive service delivery model can be divided into two parts. The first is to establish that the consumption of the services being discussed is important for economic development. If it is important, then the second issue is to decide which model of service delivery is the best; if not, the optimal mode of delivery is of little importance. Section 2 discusses the first issue and concludes that services are important to development. Section 3 discusses the efficacy of a demand responsive – or near market – mode of delivery of services to settlements. The services being discussed here are the standard services that are normally provided to settlements by governments or settlement organisations. They include services in the areas of education and training, health, housing, electricity, water and sewerage, town maintenance, and law and order.

The purpose of this paper is to provide an overview of recent policy developments and policy debate in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander affairs that may have significance for researchers concerned with service delivery for settlements. The emphasis is on Australian Government policies, since it has driven recent actual and proposed changes. The sources used are government documents and the media, in the form of The Australian newspaper, which has a good coverage of the relevant issues. No attempt has been made to use academic literature because, while it provides an important analysis of the issues, it generally lags behind current debate and developments. This paper begins with an outline of what the author believes are the political motivations behind recent policy changes. It then provides a discussion of some of these actual and proposed policy changes, and finally, it speculates about the likely impact of these changes on service delivery for settlements.