The Impact of Alternative Land Tenure and Administration on Pastoral Property Management and Land Condition

Abstract

This study attempts to describe the impact of a range of alternative land tenure and administrative arrangements on pastoral property management and pastoral land condition. The condition and management of pastoral land has been the subject of intense public inquiry. As a result of these inquiries land policy has changed from closer settlement to an emphasis on land management. About half of the land degradation in the pastoral zone could be recovered with the adoption of more conservative grazing strategies. The hypothesis tested in this study was that present land tenure and administration was a significant cause of land degradation. To test the hypothesis a computer simulation model of a pastoral property was used. Field experts verified the physical and financial outcomes of model simulations of various land tenure scenarios. The results of these simulations supported the hypothesis and also suggested that exploitative land management was not compatible with long term property business survival nor reasonable standards of living for grazier families. More conservative management than that currently practiced in the Charleville area of Queensland resulted in improved standards of living and range condition. In attempting to improve the standards of pastoral land management the various government land administration agencies will face several challenges. Firstly, a century of settlement policy has perpetuated the existence of a large number of properties with inadequate resource bases. Adjustment to a size distribution that facilitates better land management will take many years. Secondly, better information is required on the most economically efficient means of adopting more conservative land management, methods for assessing land condition and the attitudes and goals of graziers to land degradation. This information and understanding is required so that future land tenure and administration can facilitate better land condition in the pastoral zone.