A Word From NNIC on Contemporary Issues

Some of the issues at play in the community, and discussed here, are sensitive issues for many people, particularly those who feel a calling to nurture and steward our country. Many members of our community have very strong feelings in favour of a particular perspective, and/or against an alternative perspective.

Ngarigo Nation Indigenous Corporation and its members recognise and respect the diversity and strength of views in the community. We value healthy and respectful debate, and encourage everybody to discuss their values and views while remaining open-minded and respectful.

It is only through robust discussion and mutual respect that we can find the best course of action.

Ngarigo Nation Ngarigo Nation

Ngarigo Nation Brumby Research Community Survey Report

Ngarigo people want say in alpine Snowy Mountains brumby management.

Ngarigo Nation Indigenous Corporation (NNIC), a representative body of the Australian Alpine Aboriginal people, the Ngarigo, have produced a 187-page report based on their findings about community attitudes toward brumbies in the alpine region after conducting a comprehensive community consultation process.

The report seeks to highlight the role that Ngarigo people have in finding an equitable solution for the management of wild horses in their Country, which includes Kosciuszko National Park.

Guda Therese (Aunty Therese Webster), Chairperson NNIC, says “We have deep desire and responsibility to care for Country in the way Country cares for us. The role of the custodian is not related simply to what is on top of the land and water. It is everything above, in and below it; the flora, the fauna, the human population, the seasons, the weather and the rhythm of Country. A key component of this is the concept of preservation. The arrival of Europeans into Ngarigo Country changed the rhythm and the story of our Country. It has been and will continue to be a major challenge for us in our role as preservers. Part of this changing rhythm was the introduction of the brumby. The brumbies are here now, they are part of the Ngarigo story, and they are our responsibility as preservers to manage in a way that maintains the best rhythm on Ngarigo Country.”

The introduction of the “Kosciuszko Wild Horse Heritage Act” by then-Deputy Premier John Barilaro in 2018 sought to protect the “heritage value” of the brumbies and allowed for the creation of a “draft management plan” to assess the best way to maintain brumby numbers at a sustainable level within the Kosciuszko National Park boundaries.

In January 2021 a survey commissioned by NSW National Parks & Wildlife Service estimated the brumby population to be at 14,000 horses but these numbers have proven to be highly contentious amongst the community. A “Wild Horse Heritage Management Plan” was adopted by the Minister for Energy and the Environment in November 2021 and the reduction in horse numbers to 3,000 is planned over the next five years.

Key recommendations of the NNIC report range from partnering with NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service and developing a contract service where Ngarigo representatives and trusted horse-people can help in the stress-free control of brumbies; through to developing a Ngarigo tourism strategy that would include the brumbies.

Professor Jakelin Troy, the Director of Indigenous Research at Sydney University and NNIC member, calls the NNIC report “a work of ‘citizen science’” and “intrinsically Indigenous” but that it also “shares the understanding we, Ngarigo, have that the future of the brumbies on our Ngarigo Country should be ours to decide…They have become of our Country and it is for us to determine their future.”

Download a copy of the NNIC report.

Participate in the Community Ngarigo Brumby Research survey.

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