Flinders Ranges and Outback Integrated Strategic Tourism Plan

Final Plan
Develop a More Appealing Flinders Ranges and Outback SA of Tomorrow
Because a pastoral lease does not extinguish Native Title any change of land use is
potentially a ‘future act’ which could be subject to compensation. The Board is currently
seeking advice from the Crown Solicitors Office about its ability to approve a change of
land use subject to considering Native Title requirements. Any new land use would be
subject to clearances under the Aboriginal Heritage Act.
The Pastoral Act is an instrument developed over a hundred years ago to address land use
practices at the time. It is no longer appropriate for dealing with the complexity of land uses
in the rangelands and other pastoral areas including mining, tourism and conservation.
The Act allows for an appeal process through the Pastoral Lands Appeal Tribunal. Yet this has
not been established by Cabinet and no appeals have ever been made.
Pastoralists seeking to diversify their operations to improve their overall economic viability
and to enhance land management practices are totally dependent on the Board’s
approval to proceed. The lack of clarity in the Act about the nature and scale of uses that
would be considered to be “ancillary to pastoral purposes” makes it difficult to identify what
kinds of tourism activities would be considered. It would be better for the Act to enable the
Board to examine the potential impacts of the proposed activities of a certain scale/type
and assess them against the objects of the Act. Should a situation arise in the future where
all activities require Pastoral Board approval this would have huge resource implications for
the Board, which would probably trigger changes to the Act.
Gluepot Reserve in the Riverland, managed by Birds Australia and Warraweena in the
Flinders Ranges are examples of the kinds of eco tourism and conservation initiatives that
can be undertaken on pastoral leases.
It is considered appropriate that additional tourism opportunities be supported on pastoral
properties because these provide several of the outcomes our priority target markets are
seeking. There is likely to be increased interest in experiencing Australia’s Station properties
with the release of Baz Luhrmann’s film ‘Australia’. Some of these opportunities can be
tailored to suit high yield international and domestic markets while others will be better suited
to families and activity seekers wanting basic accommodation and amenities.
Training and mentoring programs could assist pastoralists to diversify into tourism and help
them to understand what specific markets are expecting in accommodation and service
standards.
The William Creek community has identified a potential tourism product that builds on the
relationship between Anna Creek and Nilpinna Stations and the existing tourism
accommodation and infrastructure in the town. They are keen to keep their proposal
confidential until it has been tested, however initial discussions indicate that the product
being considered would have considerable appeal to the overseas market, especially USA,
Canada, New Zealand and Northern Europe and to wealthy Australians.
Urban & Regional Planning Solutions
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