31 October 2024 - Chris Henggeler, Kachana Pastoral Company

Q           “Would you go to jail over this?”

A           “Yes.”

Solzhenitsyn once said:  

Let the lie come into the world, let it even triumph. But not through me.

Yes, I’d rather go to jail than knowingly participate in actions that I now know to threaten the livelihoods of future Australians.

Sound custodianship of landscapes benefits not only my great grandchildren, but everybody’s.

I’m not laying claim to being worthy of proclaiming Solzhenitsyn’s wisdom.

I do however believe we all have the option to learn from history.

We ought not knowingly repeat or silently tolerate bad ideas.

Replacing herbivores with fire is a bad idea!           There are better options.

That is Kachana’s message to the people of Australia and to those living in other seasonally dry regions.

This seems to be the message that we are being targeted for.

Not for how Kachana Pastoral Co PL (KPC) manages the wild donkeys, not for breaking any law, but for being on the “wrong” side of a supposedly politically correct fence.

Fact: KPC’s control of “declared C3 pests” (agile wallabies, dingos and donkeys) aligns with the Act.

We remain compliant with the very Act that is apparently being weaponised to make an example of us.

Replacing herbivores with fire is a bad idea!

Australia has run this experiment before: We lost the function of most of our original megafauna.

Do we now really have to repeat this experiment with Australia’s remaining and new megafauna?

There are better options.

Australia’s new mega fauna can willingly take on many roles that Australia’s old and now extinct megafauna would have played.

Regenerative pastoralism plays a key role in this. We have access to knowledge, skill-sets and tools that are already being embraced by industry.

Processes that built the original natural wealth that humans have been tapping into for millennia still exist. Such processes require discovery and reactivating. Regenerative pastoralism holds the key.

With perhaps a few exceptions, new Australian people, ideas, animals, plants and other species need not be seen as a threat or be framed as a problem.

By working in line with natural processes that create abundance, old and new Australians can cooperatively aim at rebuilding new levels of natural wealth. Perhaps, even unprecedented levels?

The role of science is not to defend theories that are being challenged. That is not science; that is ideology or politics.   -    The role of science is to test new ideas and to evaluate new outcomes.

The daily barrage of fear-porn, lawfare and news of the monetising of opportunity for short-term gains at the expense of those who come after us, is daunting. As a custodian of land, my job is not to fight that.

My job is to work at co-creating opportunity.

If speaking truth to power lands me in jail, I’ll be calling on the spirit that animated the ANZACs for inspiration.

I respect all actual custodians of country and the countless people who sacrificed their lives and/or loved ones for Australia to become the envy of many nations.                               

May we prove to be worthy heirs of privileges that came at a high cost.

Chris Henggeler, Kachana, Kimberley WA