Our leaders are not creating the lucky country, the are creating noinch boodja, dead country.

“It is impossible to conceive a Country that promises fairer from its Situation than this of TERRA AUSTRALIS, no longer incognita, as this Map demonstrates, but the Southern Continent Discovered. It lies precisely in the richest climates of the World… and therefore whoever perfectly discovers and settles it will become infalliably possessed of Territories as Rich, as fruitful, and as capable of Improvement, as any that have hitherto been found out, either in the East Indies or the West.”

Those are the words Emanuel Bowen a Royal Mapmaker, scribbled on his incomplete map of the west coast of Australia back in the 1740’s. Although its true to say he did not grasp the arid nature of Australia, he was not wrong. The original inhabitants knew to shape and manage the land, and yet with all the modern worlds technology and science, we still manage to stuff it up.

With all the learnings from Werribee’s State Research Farm, our Federal and State Governments lead us to more unsustainable growth. With the imminent closure of the Yallourn Power Station, and no readily apparent plan to replace its energy output, more and more cracks are appearing in our future.

For at least 40,000 years, the first inhabitants of Australia shaped this continent to their needs. They used fire to make it easier to get through thick and prickly vegetation. Fire was used to promote new vegetation growth for their own food as well as attracting game for hunting. Fire used for warmth, cooking, communication and cultural reasons.

There are writings of first nation practices, that highlight the critical need of controlled burning. Even Bushfire Royal Commissions have raised the need for burns, and how ceasing or reducing these practices sees dramatic results. Glen Kelly, a Nyungar man, mentions how up until two or three decades ago cattlemen of the south coast used skills shared with them. These farmers to a large extent maintained Nyungar land management practices with frequent cool fires. But this changed with modern thinking.

Kelly wrote ‘In the last few decades, however, we have witnessed some parts of our coastal land move from productive and vital areas to what we consider sick (mindytch) or dead country (noinch boodja). Today large sections of the coastal heath and woodlands are either left unburnt or a burnt at long intervals. To us this is clearly inappropriate’.

From vegetation becoming dominant at the expense of others, to high intensity fires fuelled by heavy build up of undergrowth, the impacts of abandoning frequent cool fire burns have had on the environment are long lasting. From the lack of controlled burns, woodlands are replaced by thickets and other plants. These areas become more vulnerable to frequent hot fires, which in turn means the original woodlands may take decades to re-establish, if at all (not to mention wildlife). How on earth with all the science we command, could we get to here.

Early in Werribee’s history, the State Research Farm was opened. Established in 1912, its goal was to investigate ways of improving farming methods used here in Victoria. The early development was devoted to research into crop improvement with emphasis on rotations, fertiliser practice and plant breeding. Other areas of research included sheep, dairy cows, poultry and more. Its contribution to Victoria’s agricultural practices was significant. Our leaders of a century ago had the foresight to develop help develop farming. And yet our government cannot get the basics of water right.

Today the East Coast of Australia is seeing rain bucket down. In some regions flood water has ripped through communities. Scientists a decade ago were predicting something totally different though. It was in 2007 when that Tim Flannery reportedly said, “…So even the rain that falls isn’t actually going to fill our dams and our river systems, and that’s a real worry for the people in the bush. If that trend continues then I think we’re going to have serious problems, particularly for irrigation.”

As no rain was to fall, dams became a ludicrous idea, at least to the State Government. In the early 2000’s there was a plan to dam the Mitchell River. This river is well known for flooding, so to manage that, and help ensure water supply for the area (the Mitchell can run dry during Summer), an idea was devised to build a dam. That would not come to pass, instead the State Government made it impossible by listing the Mitchell under the Heritage Rivers Act 1992.

The government also invested in a Desalination Plant, as well as the North-South Pipe. The North-South Pipe, is a pipeline that takes water from the Goulburn, usually used for farming or environmental health, and brings it to Melbourne. So instead of supporting Agricultural production, where our food comes from, instead of ensuring a sound ecological environment, it instead gives water to Melbourne’s ever-growing population. A population that does need food to survive. A population that does like to leave the big smoke on long weekends to visit green space. A population that keeps rising, just here in Wyndham with nearly 100 births a week.

The government knows how fast Melbourne is growing. The city is projected to go from 5 million to 9 million people by 2056. House lots out in the growth regions are being rolled out to meet demand. But as anyone that lives in these areas can attest, it takes years for basic services such as Schools, Medical, Parks, Public Transport and more, to come on-line. Some residents can even tell you even when something is on the plan, that is no assurance it will be delivered.

For all our technical capabilities we are still not planning for our future. At least not a sustainable one. With all the growth, where is our water coming from, where is our energy, where is the food? How will our environmental needs be balanced against human needs? Will the Melbourne of tomorrow suck dry our Agricultural regions in an ever-increasing thirst for more water? Will controlled burns increase to allow for better farming and environmental outcomes?

All we can see is coal plant closures, plans for batteries to replace those, and certainly are no dam proposals on the horizon. Sure, we can fire up the desal plant, and do not doubt that we will, but that does take a lot of energy to do. If our power grid becomes unreliable then what?

Australia is the land of flooding rains and punishing droughts. European explorers noted the arid nature of the continent, but as the first nation people demonstrated, we can manage this. We do not need let Australia become “dead county”.

Emanuel Bowen alluded to someone that could live sustainably in his words “whoever perfectly discovers and settles it” would be rich and fruitful. It blows my mind that we seem to be getting further and further away from that.

Instead of unsustainable growth, and the many disjointed approaches to community needs, its time we got the plain talking details of just what 2056 will look like. If food, water, and energy are going to be issues with the course we are on, then its NOW to set a course redirect. Now, before it is too late.