Crikey. Strewth. Well, tie me kangaroo down, Sport.
Who would’a thunk that: prescriptive and controlled bush burn-offs are good for the environment and can save property too. But there’s a catch, it’s only a good idea for indigenous people – ‘cos culture.
In fact, Australia has been practising cultural apartheid with respect to preventive burn-offs for almost as long as the greenies have been refusing permission for the huge majority to take the same precautionary measures. Amazing eh?
Stuff discovered that a group of aborigine-owned properties escaped flames in the Hunter Valley due to a previously carried-out preventive burn. Amazed, astonished by this miracle, they further learned that this magic trick is mystic knowledge possessed by only the select few of extremely clever indigenous-types.
These fires, in the ancient Kidganotteree first peoples’ almost indecipherable tongue, are known as ‘Cultural Burnings’. They have been legislated for and encouraged for the last five or ten years (depending on the State) and are considered a ‘right’ duly passed back to the first-peoples after being stolen away by colonists (no; I’m not kidding) following invasion.
From “THE VICTORIAN TRADITIONAL OWNER CULTURAL FIRE STRATEGY”:
STRENGTHENING CULTURAL BURNING IN VICTORIA
European colonisation has significantly impacted upon Traditional Owner rights and obligations to care for Country, including the practice of cultural burning. The departure from cultural burning practices has resulted in significant ecological changes to Victoria’s natural environment and increased risks to life and property.
Nobody from the special people is precluded from these burns, even though you may think that allowing, perhaps, the mentally infirm or wheelchair-bound to take part could be fraught with risk; that would just be enabling your own disparaging, colonialist, prob’ly racist mindset to rule over an inclusive indigenous traditional activity. Shame on you.
So there you have it; if you want to carry out a controlled burn-off on your own property in Aus, you’d better find some indigenous ancestry pronto: diversity is not welcome in such affairs, you’ll be going to jail.
Burn, colonist. Burn.
If you enjoyed this BFD article please consider sharing it with your friends.