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Below: A video from the Mountain Cattlemen's Association of Victoria, featuring supporters of Alpine grazing speaking on the history of the mountain cattlmen. Speakers also give opinions on the importance of cattle grazing to "reduce blazing" in Victoria's high country (Should be treated as comment).
Below: a clip from the ABC Alpine Stories series. This short video touches on the importance of Alpine bogs to the ecosystem |
 Web links and documents |
In June, 2004, Professor David Gillieson, the Chair of the National Committee for Geography, Australian Academy of Science, made a submission to the Alpine Grazing Taskforce, Victoria.
The submission outlines the damage that cattle-grazing has done to the ecology and environment of the Alpine National Park. It also disputes claims that cattle-grazing reduces the risk of fire. The full text of this submission can be found at http://www.science.org.au/natcoms/nc-geography/documents/nc-geography-submission-june04.rtf
On November 3, 2010, The Mountain Cattlemen's Association of Victoria published an editorial on its blog titled, "LIES, pseudo-science, green activism and politics". The comment attacks the claims made by opponents of grazing that all scientific findings support their view. The blog also argues that grazing is necessary to protect the Alpine National Park from bushfires. The full text of this comment can be found at http://www.cowpad.info/?p=97
On December 28, 2010, The Sydney Morning Herald published a report titled, `Alpine grazing a lucrative public subsidy for the privileged few'. The piece was written by Tony Lupton, the member for Prahran in the Victorian Parliament (2002-10) and cabinet secretary in the Brumby government. He was a member of the Alpine Grazing Taskforce.
Mr Lupton's analysis and comment gives a great deal of background information on the issue. It also explains why Mr Lupton believes that the decision to reintroduce cattle to the Alpine National Park is ill-advised.
The full text of this report can be found at http://www.smh.com.au/opinion/politics/alpine-grazing-a-lucrative-public-subsidy-for-the-privileged-few-20101227-198g1.html
On January 9, 2011, Peter Walsh, the Deputy Leader of the Nationals in the recently-elected Liberal Coalition Victorian government issued a media release titled, "Vic Coalition to Reinstate High Country Cattle Grazing to Reduce Fire Risk'. The release includes a strong argument in support of the cultural significance of the high country cattlemen. The full text of this release can be found at http://vic.liberal.org.au/LinkClick.aspx?fileticket=/bElf7kQ56M=&tabid=189
On January 12, 2011, the Victorian Liberal Government issues a media release titled, "Research begins on strategic cattle grazing to reduce bushfire risk". The release details the Governments institution of a trial of cattle-grazing in the Alpine State Park and gives an outline of the reasons for this. The full text of the media release can be found at http://vic.liberal.org.au/News/MediaReleases/tabid/159/articleType/ArticleView/articleId/2550/Research-begins-on-strategic-cattle-grazing-to-reduce-bushfire-risk.aspx
On January 14, 2011, The Gippsland Times published an article titled, `Cattle back grazing in the High Country'. Though a news report it focuses exclusively on the views of those who favour the trial - the Victorian Environment Minister and the Mountain Cattlemen's Association of Victoria. The full text of this report can be found at http://sale.yourguide.com.au/news/local/news/environment/cattle-back-grazing-in-the-high-country/2047444.aspx?storypage=0
The Internet site of the Mountain Cattlemen's Association of Victoria can be found at http://www.mcav.com.au/
The site includes subsections titled, `The Cattle are back in the Alpine National Park: Grazing fuel reduction trial is on" and "The proud history of the MCAV".
On January 27, 2011, a group of 125 concerned environmental scientists sent an open letter to the Victorian premier, Ted Baillieu, with a copy sent to relevant state and federal ministers and department heads. The letter outlines in detail the reasons for their opposition to the grazing trial in its current form and suggests that if appropriate processes had been adhered to before the trial was undertaken it would have been likely not to have secured approval to do so.
The full text of this letter can be found at http://vnpa.org.au/admin/library/attachments/PDFs/Reports/scientists%20letter-highcountrygrazing.pdf
On January 31, 2011, an opinion piece by Dr Greg Moore, a Senior Research Associate of Burnley College, University of Melbourne, was published on the environment section of the ABC's Internet site. Dr Moore is strongly opposed to the reintroduction of cattle to the National Park and claims that the trial was politically motivated. The full text of Dr Moore's opinion piece can be found at http://www.abc.net.au/environment/articles/2011/01/31/3125906.htm
On February 7, 2011, the Victorian Department of Sustainability and Environment issued a document on its Internet site titled, `Changes to cattle grazing in Victoria's Alpine National Park Research trial - strategic cattle grazing to reduce the risk of bushfire.' The document details the scope of and the rationale for the cattle-grazing trial. The full text of the release can be found at http://www.dse.vic.gov.au/DSE/nrenpr.nsf/LinkView/96607BDB8D7C34A9CA257817000F427425944F18CBF38C964A2567BD002971B9
On February 9, 2011, the ABC carried a news report titled, "Govt accused of alpine grazing consultation failure"
The report claims that the Victorian Government failed to consult with the Aboriginal custodians of the Alpine National Park before taking its decision to trial cattle-grazing. The full text of this report can be found at http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2011/02/09/3133965.htm
The Victorian National Parks Association has a section of its site given over to opposing the grazing of cattle in the Alpine National Park. Its arguments against the action can be found at http://vnpa.org.au/page/nature-conservation/parks-protection/alpine-cattle-grazing-%E2%80%93-it%E2%80%99s-a-park,-not-a-paddock
These arguments are current and are regularly updated.
A more detailed (though less current) statement of the Victorian National Parks Association's arguments against grazing cattle in the Alpine National Park can be found at http://www.cowpaddock.com/page1.html, http://www.cowpaddock.com/page1.html,http://www.cowpaddock.com/report2.html and http://www.cowpaddock.com/page1.html,http://www.cowpaddock.com/report2.htmlhttp://vnpa.org.au/page/publications/fact-sheets/faq-sheet-_-cattle-grazing-in-the-alps