Northern Territory Grazier John Khan (pictured) writes:
Regarding the media release by Garnett and McFadyen on March 31st demonizing Gamba Grass, and the subsequent announcement by Minister Mulherin a few days later that Gamba would be banned, I make the following statements.
Garnett and McFadyen may know something about environmental science, but it is clear that they are so engrossed on their own idealism that they are either ignorant or contemptuous of everything else. They claim their opinions have been proved correct by scientific research and experiment.
Environmentalism is an inexact science, based on personal opinions, with the concepts very open to debate, and the conclusions and teachings almost devoid of economic values. The experiments are easily tailored and fabricated to support the scientists own beliefs and aspirations.
Photo of Brahman Cows grazing Gamba pasture, note the diversity of species, with trees and other grasses present. 
The Charles Darwin University and the Tropical Savannas CRC have not produced any plausible plans for control or eradication of Gamba. They have not succeeded in controlling Gamba on Crown land. They have not come up with any alternatives for the farmer. All that they have said implies a determination to eradicate farmers from the savanna and reduce the population. They have turned a blind eye to the scenario of farming co-existing with the natural environment.
The world is not growing any larger but the population is increasing, and 80% of the people do not get enough to eat. Global Warming may worsen the situation. If we do not grow more food, we will not survive to enjoy the savanna. Our national security depends on populating and using the North of Australia.
Most Asians see us as “Dogs in the Manger” who are either too lazy or stupid to use our resources or else so wealthy that we don’t need to. Either way we are sitting on land that they would like to use, as their population grows and they get hungrier they will probably decide to change the situation.
Instead of banning Gamba, Minister Mulherin would be better employed helping the agricultural industry to survive and grow, rather than pandering to a small group of radicals who have no logic or reasoning to back up their call.
The photo below is of Pure Spear Grass gone to seed and useless in March. Note there is no other grasses growing in the pure stand of spear grass.
The Gamba Declaration is full of mistruths, exaggerations, and impossible predictions and if we had been given the time we could have pulled it to pieces. It questions the sincerity of the architects and shows the gullibility of those who support it.
Banning Gamba is only another Slice of the Salami, if you want to keep farming or as a consumer, you want to keep eating and buying imported goods you will have to make your voice heard.
DEMAND A STAY OF EXECUTION SO THE FACTS CAN BE PRESENTED TO AN IMPARTIAL COMMISSION.
Have your say!
Should the Northern Territory Government listen to graziers and hold an Impartial Inquiry into benefits / impacts of Gamba grass before deciding to follow the WA & QLD governemnts in declaring it a Class 2 weed?
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Tags: Environment, Gamba Grass, Northern Territory
Isn’t it an amazing country that we live. I have just had my weekly dose of Agmates reading and realized that our country is going backwards.
The USA are taking how many acres of conversation reserves and turning into cropping land, the Brazilians are doing likewise, and here we are, hamstringing Australian agriculture by banning Tree Clearing, banning pasture grass species and putting up more protocols and red tape than what we saw at last years APEC meeting in Sydney.
Sooner the agricultural industry as a whole (beef, sheep, goat, dairy,seafood, grain, horticultural and any other that I might have missed) begins to make the average Jack & Jill with three kids and two dogs in the outer suburbs of Sydney/Melbourne or Brisbane that their food doesn’t come from the supermarket the sooner we can get on with producing high quality products that a sustainable to be the environment and the producer.
While our ever active peak body Agforce, does a little bit, there needs to be more shock and awe in the way it is done. Otherwise the message is just not getting through. The slogan Every Family Needs Farmer, makes us out that we need pity taken on us.
We can either sit here and whinge about what is happening in Agriculture or we can get out there and fight fire with fire.
Personally I’m not a whinger, but one voice does get drowned out by the sounds of horns and traffic in peak hour in the Brisbane CBD.
It seems that the AGRICULTURAL TERRORISTS - for that is what they are, who hold higher education and ability to debate subjects they think they are expert in - are destroying our Northern Security with misguided attacks on those specially innovative Pastoralists who are planting improved pastures on poor soils - Gamba Grass being the first one in the headlines at the moment.
Our sensible Scientists have been researching grasses from around the world, and since we are on the same parallels as South Africa, and that country has great migrations of hooved animals, their grasses are marvelously suited to improved production here.
The world’s population is growing at a frightening rate, and have to be fed - Australia and Brazil are in a pretty good situation to be able to do this,but as Australia is the driest continent on earth - we have to work harder.
Australian Farmers manage to produce a huge surplus - providing export income, with very little help from the government.
Our country should be able to feed itself. Northern Australia, Brazil and parts of Asia are among the few parts of the world still able to be developed to produce food - when the rest of the world is hungry.
Africa is a case in point. Subsistence farming is not very efficient, nor is hampering farm development.
It wasn’t so long ago people were protesting “No more Dams”, Dams are just big boys toys, now all the grandstanding about wild rivers seems to have come to naught - dams are going in places never dreamed of, particularly the Mary Valley.
The world will realize they are getting short of food - fuel prices are impacting on farming, and starvation in Africa is something happening to someone else.
When people are lining up in their supermarkets for foodstuffs that are not there, as it happened in The Soviet REPUBLIC, half ‘em won’t know why.
Zimbabwe is a case in point. The white farmers who have been there for generations have been thrown off their land, their workers burned out and murdered, and now they are starving. It is being done to Australian farmers in a more subtle way.
Re Gamba; Thanks John Khan for your excellent letter.
Clear thinking must run in the genes. I read a very good letter on the subject from Rashida Khan recently.
Forward thinking is always the key. Nth Aust needs all the best species to develop, in people, plants, livestock,and technology.
In Brazil, I have observed Gamba with double our rainfall, on poor white sand, sustaining a cow & weaner at 1.2 Ha per unit, grazed fairly short, and no risk of getting out of control. Very few other species could do this, on low inputs.This was on virtual waste land. Now it feeds a lot of folks.
Bet your boots that if we do not take care of development some one else will fill the economic void fast.The potential for our northern lands rest in the hands of ‘can-do’ people.
I think it is fair to observe most disasters in Australia have been dreamed up by irresponsible folks in Govt employ, with no downstream responsibility. If we take grazing out of Nth Aust, spare a thought for the next step. I hope NT Govt is capable enough of clear thought on rangeland development to give incentive to the ‘can-do’ folks.
Imagine the Aust beef industry without such common sense tools as highly adapted Brahman cattle, improved pasture species, roads & roadtrains, coupled with the people who have the ‘will-power’.
‘Won’t-power’ simply does not get over the line.
Come on, NT. Show the way with forward thinking,and keep all the tools of a good trade, including Brahmans, buffel, stylo, and gamba. Blind followers usually end up choking on dust.
In haste, Alf .