There has been talk on this in the past but it appears the state government is now in the process of 'acquiring' God's Country for development:
au.news.yahoo.com/pastoralists-angry-over-ningaloo-land-grab-26556255.html
Seeing as our little surfing / windsurfing / kitesurfing / fishing community makes up a large proportion of visitors to this beautiful region of Australia, may I suggest anyone who has visited, or has the intention to visit Gnaraloo / Warroora / Red Bluff in the future, sign this petition:
www.change.org/p/hon-ken-baston-mlc-save-the-wilderness-product-of-the-warroora-station-world-heritage-ningaloo-reef-coastline-from-unwanted-developments?utm_campaign=responsive_friend_inviter
I'm expecting my first kid in July - in years to come I hope that Dan Jnr (not his / her real name) will experience the place in all of its glory like we all currently do.
Cheers
Dan
Good luck. I think with the down turn in mining the focus will turn to tourist development and the spots like the bluff ect that are already popular are prime targets. What gets me is how they think it's ok to take a family's life away. Move or we make you move. Soviet WA. We need a community change of mind set. It's not ok to just look away when someone is in trouble. Not to stop and help. Look at the gold coast and the ocean liner dock. They have to fight every week to save the place.
You know what gets me is "why they think its ok to take a family's life away".
These families are on 99 year leases and always have been. They or their grand papey signed a piece of paper saying for x dollars they got to live on the land for 99 years. The original lease only let them run sheep and cattle (it is called a pastoral lease for a reason). More recently the owners of Gnaraloo and Ningaloo (and others around there) station must have requested changes to their lease conditions. They would have had to resign the lease presumably. This changed lease clearly did not change the term or the status of land ownership, so these people have always known this land is not theirs. So I don't know why they are now effectively claiming it as theirs?
Why do you people not give the same outcry when my lease runs out and I have to find another place to live? What is the difference?
If I sign a new lease can I then expect to own the land after a while?
If anything, the people who should be most outraged by the pastoral leases being renewed are the local indigenous people and the local communities. Individuals are getting exclusive access to state owned property in an unfair way. Taking Gnaraloo and a few other tourist nodes out of this unfair arrangement is a small step in the right direction.
By the way, did you know about 90% of northern WA is pastoral leases. The owners of most of this can't do tourism, can't sell this land, can't develop it, can't really do anything. Many if not most are aboriginal corporations / communities.
The whole thing is an absolute fiasco and the sooner WA moves out from pastoral leases to normal land ownership the better for everyone.
Sorry for the rant, but uninformed opinions like the one above in this regard make my blood boil.
A petition to 'give' a couple of million acres of land to a few individuals is also ridiculous.
(Unless you want to raise a petition to get my landlord to give me my leased house for free - I'm up for that!)
^^^ I see your point but we all know the Govt does not want to renew, so they can give a big free kick to debvelopers all in the name of $$$$$$$$$ - or get DPaW managed camping for the same reason..
So regardless of the semantics or the philosophy behind leases, the land grab is for bad reasons.
It will create lots of new jobs for Rangers positions to patrol the coast for illegal camping and fishing.
If they (government) take it away, the pastoralists, will leave the area as the money that they currently make in camping fees is more than average Joe makes in his 9-5pm day job.
Then the coast gets raped and goodbye to the lovely beaches ,as more and more rubbish is left behind.
Just look at the short section north of Drummonds Cove up to Coronation.
Used to be looked after by landowners up until the Government decided they wanted the land.(all of it up to Oakagee river mouth)on the western side of the brand Highway.
Sad but its just called Development , by the pollies.
