Call for action on NSW and Queensland Stock Routes

National Parks Association of NSW
The Wilderness Society (Sydney) Inc
WWF Australia
Nature Conservation Council of NSW
Birds Australia
South East Regional Conservation Alliance
Birds Qld
NPA Qld
Wildlife Preservation Society of Qld
Southern Qld Birds Australia

Media Release
11 April 2008

Protection and care of the historic stock route network that criss-crosses Queensland and New South Wales have become a priority for both rural and conservation groups. National, Queensland and NSW groups yesterday agreed to work together on the issue.

Travelling Stock Routes are an integral part of Australia’s rural history. From about 1830 onwards, drovers used the routes to walk stock long distances between properties and markets. Their routes were set aside in public ownership. These connected strips of land, totalling over 3.6 million hectares, have high social and conservation values. Many still retain native vegetation such as endangered box woodlands. They enable wildlife to migrate and adapt to climate change and in the future may provide a cheaper option for stock transport.  Such an extensive network of connections in the landscape does not exist anywhere else on earth.

The Travelling Stock Networks: Biodiversity Highway of the Eastern Inland Conference was held on Wednesday 9th April at The Australian Museum, Sydney. It attracted enthusiastic participants from NSW, Queensland and Victoria, including: farmers, conservationists, scientists, government officers, Rural Land Protection Board rangers and representatives of national environment organisations. The TSN Conference reaffirmed and extolled the rich complexity of the social, indigenous, historic, economic and nature conservation values of the Travelling Stock Routes.

Following the conference a number of participants agreed to work as a national coalition concerned about the future of the travelling stock network in NSW and Queensland. 

They adopted an Action Statement calling for government action to:

• Retain, not sell-off, transfer or lease remaining parts of the network;
• Increase State and Commonwealth financial resourcing to enable appropriate care, control and management of stock routes throughout NSW and Queensland;
• Enact specific stand-alone legislation to ensure the permanent protection and effective management of the network in each state; and
• Support community awareness and promotion of the network.

These stock route networks provide many benefits to the livestock industry and the wider community including eco-tourism, grazing, landscape beauty, recreation, and as refuges for travelling birds as well as many threatened animals and plants.

“These benefits far outweigh the small commercial return to state governments from selling or otherwise degrading the Travelling Stock Routes and Reserves  ” said Bev Smiles on behalf of the groups.
  
NB: The Travelling Stock Network is commonly referred to as “The Long Paddock”. In Queensland it is called the Stock Route Network and is managed by local government. In NSW it consists of Travelling Stock Routes and Reserves managed by Rural Lands Protection Boards.