A new Australian Government drought plan

Jacqueline Arnold

20 September, 2024

To Whom It May Concern,

Thank you for the opportunity to comment on the Australian Government Drought Plan.

I was born, raised and reside in central Australia. I worked as a station hand during the millennial drought and experienced first-hand the horrific consequences of failing to properly prepare and manage drought.

There should be mandatory destocking in drought. Animal protection authorities should be given exception funding and powers during this period. There should be mandatory education and reporting for everyone that goes to work in agriculture regarding animal welfare including duty of care and cruelty.

In many places the value of the agriculture industry to rural communities identities and economies is exaggerated by both industry, governments and media.

In many cases, such as central Australia, the agricultural industries’ pivotal role in the colonial wars, massacres, and ongoing colonial land occupation is well understood. There has been no truth telling about this.

Inappropriate food production / agriculture should not be propped up. Our water ways are degraded by stock, our ecosystem is collapsing under buffel grass invasion – just one of the highly invasive, high fuel load pasture grasses introduced to ‘drought proof’ central Australia, our precious groundwater by the expansion of irrigation.

In many cases the costs of the impact of the agricultural industry on the economic is devastating – the negative impacts on tourism, art, culture and health are significant and largely unaccounted for.

I am a nurse with a background in public health – I submit to you the following short case study on how the pastoral industry in central Australia which illustrates why in many places the agricultural industry should be allowed to die a natural death and not be propped up by subsidies. Public investment should be directed towards moving away from food production based on agriculture to protection and promotion of natural food sources and a rural Australian identity that is not mired in colonial fantasy.
CASE STUDY – THE PASTORAL INDUSTRY, DROUGH PREPAREDNESS AND THE
BUFFEL GRASS DISASTER IN CENTRAL AUSTRALIA

Buffel grass drastically reduces availability, and access to, all ecosystem food services besides beef.

BEEF

IMPACT OF BUFFEL GRASS INVASION

Buffel grass was, and still is, planted and spread to support this single ‘food service’ industry.

PASTURE
PROS
Buffel grass is well regarded by some pastoralists because it grows rapidly and can withstand heavy grazingi. Its extensive root system and dense coverage can mitigate some forms of soil erosion that results from industrial activity, at least in the short term.ii

CONS
However, the nutritive value of buffel grass is lower than other introduced pasture grasses and native grasses iii. It is only moderately palatable and can cause oxylate poisoning in cows and horses. Buffel grass is susceptible to pests and diseases, most notably pasture diebackiv, has been noted to die off in extreme hot, dry periods and over time gets ‘runs down’v.

CONSEQUENCES FOR HEALTH

NUTRITION
While grass fed beef is a source of protein and provides other nutrients such as iodine, zinc, vitamins and essential fatty acidsvi, diets high in beef contribute substantially to burden of chronic diseasevii.
The weekly consumption of red meat by Australians is estimated at 24% higher on average than maximum suggested by the Australian Dietary Guidelinesviii

FOOD SECURITY
Reports such as the EAT-Lancet Commission for Healthy and Sustainable Food Systemsix and the
Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) on Climate Change and Landx which accord with
UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and the Paris Agreement, have called for the following as key action towards achieving healthy and sustainable food systems:
● A greater than 50% reduction in meat production and consumption
● A 100% increase in consumption of fruits, vegetables, nuts and legumes
● Access to local, diverse food sources

Without these actions much of the population will increasingly suffer from malnutrition and preventable diseasexi.

Industrial food systems, including beef production:

● are leading contributors to the increasing health and environmental burdens experienced by
human populations worldwidexii,xiii.

● threaten climate stability and ecosystem resilience and constitutes the single largest driver of
environmental degradation and transgression of planetary boundariesxiv

NATIVE PLANTS AND ANIMALS

IMPACT OF BUFFEL GRASS INVASION

Central Australia’s natural ecosystems support a large diversity of plants and animals that service a diverse and healthy dietxv. Buffel grass drastically reduces, and in some situations eliminates, availability and access to these foodsxvi. Buffel grass destroys local food sources through a multitude of processes including:
• Displacement of native grasses (grain) and small plants (fruits and seeds).xvii
• Reducing soil nitrogen and exhausting the mineral pool, preventing growth of plants through
allelopathic suppression. xviii xix
• Causing very hot, widespread, frequent fires which:
○ damage and destroy ground, mid and upper storey edible plants, seeds and the soilsxx
○ kills edible animals through incineration, starvation, dehydration and exposurexxi
○ Buffel grass also negatively impacts the use of fire by humans to promote, distribute and
protect edible plant and animal communities
• Changing surface water flows and severely damaging aquatic ecosystems and fringing (riparian)
vegetation.xxii
• Destroying habitat, as such posing a catastrophic threat to native wildlife, including biotic
pollinators (for more on pollinators see section 3.7 of this report).xxiii
A study on key environmental and socio-cultural threats in central Australiaxxiv found buffel grass has:
• massive socio-economic impacts stemming from permanent and irreversible disappearance of bush food
for at least a decade
• major socio-economic impacts stemming from local disappearance of hunting from all or part of the
affected area (though change likely reversible within a decade if buffel grass is controlled)
These finding s are supported by other reportsxxv, statementsxxvi and testimoniesxxvii,xxviii, xxix.

CONSEQUENCES FOR HEALTH

NUTRITION
Central Australia’s natural ecosystems include extremely diverse and healthy food sources. Many plants and meats are extremely rich in vitamins, minerals and antioxidantsxxx.

Traditional diets appears to have been low in energy density but high in nutrient density – high in protein, low in sugars, high in complex carbohydrate, and high in micronutrientsxxxi.

A diverse, healthy diet is essential for the best possible growth and development of infants and children, it contributes significantly to quality of life and well-being, resistance to infection and protection against chronic diseases and premature death and disabilityxxxii.

Senior Eastern Arrernte Woman Veronica Perrurle Dobson speaks of the health impacts of these changes in diet:

“Now there’s lots of other, new illnesses that make people from this country sick. The food
that is eaten is fatty…Nowadays there are lots of sweet things that our elders never ate or
drank. Our elders never got this sicknesses – blood pressure, or no kidney problems, no lung or
liver problems, or overweight problems. They didn’t know about these, didn’t know about
these sicknesses. The younger generation is always with these types of sicknesses.”xxxiii

FOOD SECURITY
Reduction in food supply is by far the most frequently reported impact (more than 66%) of invasive species globallyxxxiv

FOOD SECURITY FOR ABORIGINAL PEOPLES IN CENTRAL AUSTRALIA
The UN Human Rights Office states:
“Indigenous peoples are among the most vulnerable to hunger and malnutrition. Hunger and
malnutrition among them are largely the result of a long history of social, political and
economic exclusion, including centuries of expropriation and despoliation of their lands.”xxxv

In remote communities commercially, available food intake is still sometimes supplemented by procurement of traditional foods.

A study on traditional food availability and consumption in the Northern Territory found that traditional foods were reported to be available year-round in all 20 communities. Most participants
(89%) reported consuming a variety of traditional foods at least fortnightly and 71% at least weekly.
Seventy-six per cent reported being food insecure, with 40% obtaining traditional food during these timesxxxvi.

The following information is presented in the Aboriginal Medical Services Alliance Northern Territory
(AMSANT) Northern Territory Food Summit Food Security Information Sheetxxxvii:
● International evidence links food insecurity to suicidal behaviour and suggests it is the largest
contributor to psychological distress.

● Children in food-insecure households are likely to have emotional or behavioural difficulties and
are more likely to miss days of school.

● Food insecurity also indirectly affects physiological wellbeing through poor diet and malnutrition.

ASSOCIATED CHRONIC DISEASES
Unhealthy eating patterns are:

● the leading preventable risk factor contributing to the burden of death and disease globally,
including for Australiaxxxix.

● a leading risk factor contributing to cardiovascular disease, diabetes, some cancers, dental
disease and many other conditionsxl.

CULTURE
Food, food knowledge and culture are closely linked with empowerment, self-determination and healthy eatingxli.

In 2014 the International Congress on Nutrition declared:

“Food is the expression of values, cultures, social relations and people’s self-determination,
and the act of feeding oneself and others embodies our sovereignty, ownership and
empowerment. When nourishing oneself and eating with one’s family, friends and community,
we reaffirm our cultural identities, our ownership over our life course and our human dignity.
Nutrition is foundational for personal development and essential for overall well-being”xlii.

A systematic review of qualitative literature describing Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples’ concerns and priorities regarding food and nutrition identified key food and nutrition issues across each level of an ecological framework. One of the main themes to emerge was that traditional food is central to health and wellbeing.

“Connection to culture, particularly via traditional foods, was reported to be associated with
positive health and wellbeing. Conversely, disconnection from traditional food systems was
reported as a barrier to healthy eating and psychosocial wellbeing, as participants reported a
sense of loss and imbalance when away from their homelands. Some participants expressed
concern that cultural knowledge was not being passed down to younger generations and
could be lost. The role of culture in guiding children’s food choices was also demonstrated
through storytelling to pass down knowledge from Elders to children.”xliii

“Participants associated traditional foods with their identity and culture as well as with
healthy eating. “Bush tucker” was highlighted as a way of incorporating healthy foods into the
diet, and promoting wellbeing, although access to traditional foods was often
limited…Discussion of traditional foods was more common among participants in remote
areas; however, concern regarding access to traditional foods was shared in both remote and
urban communities.”xliv

CHILDREN
Children are especially vulnerable to a lack of adequate food, as they need safe and nutritious and food to grow mentally and physically. Malnutrition, including during pregnancy, has long-lasting consequences, including mental and physical impairment, chronic illness, and weak immune systems and reproductive healthxlv.

Veronica Perrurle Dobson, a senior Eastern Arrernte Woman, botanist and ecologist asserts:

“That’s why the young children of today are always sick, because they haven’t been taught to
eat green vegetables like bush banana, bush orange yams and other foods like witchetty,
kangaroo, perentie, goanna. That’s just some of the bush foods – there’s lots more.”

BURDEN OF DISEASE

The burden of disease related to loss of traditional food sources through buffel grass invasion on people in central Australia has not been measured. It is likely to be significant given:

Aboriginal people are disproportionately impacted by health conditions associated with poor nutrition. It has been estimated that 19% of the National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander burden of disease is attributable to poor dietxlvi. In 2012-13, compared with the non-Indigenous population,
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people werexlvii:

● more than three times as likely to have diabetes

● at least 5 times more likely to die of diabetes

● twice as likely to have signs of chronic kidney disease

● twice as likely to have unhealthy blood fat levels

● more likely to have multiple diet-related chronic conditions
● twice as likely to have a heart attack

● 60% more likely to die of heart disease

OBESITY
In 2017-18 people living in remote and very remote Australia werexlviii:

● 11% more likely to be overweight or obese compared with adults living in major cities.

● 40% more likely to die of cardiovascular disease than people living in major cities.

● 30% more likely to be hospitalised for cardiovascular disease.

Obesity rates for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander adults and children are significantly higher than comparable rates for non-Indigenous people in almost every age groupxlix.

● Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander men are 40% more likely to be obese than non-Indigenous
men

● Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women are 70% more likely to be obese than non-Indigenous
women.

ECONOMIC IMPACTS RELATED TO HEALTH l

The economic impact of poor nutrition related to loss of traditional food sources through buffel grass invasion on people in central Australia has not been measured. It is likely to be significant given the estimated costs of poor nutrition to Australia through healthcare expenditure:

● $1.4 billion attributable directly to insufficient vegetable intake 2015-16.li

● Unhealthy eating patterns contributed significantly to:

o $8.6 billion in health care costs and lost productivity from overweight and obesity 2015-16.lii

o $10.4 billion in direct health care costs associated with cardiovascular diseases 2014-15.liii

o $14.6 billion in cost for diabetes 2015-16.liv

o $6.2 billion in financial cost of stroke to government, individuals, employers and the
community 2020.lv

IMPACTS ON EMPLOYMENT
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