Since 1902, rents for grazing leases in the Western Division of New South Wales, and wool prices, have remained constant in real terms. All other costs of running a grazing property have increased. Grazier lobbying has been accepted by the NSW Government and Western Lands Commission who have been very reluctant to increase rentals to reasonable levels. As a consequence, graziers are paying minuscule rents, and taxpayers in the state are subsidising their grazing enterprises. Further, rents may be deferred and rebates granted in cases of financial hardship. A more equitable rental system would be based on a percentage of the unimproved capital value of the lease, and indexed annually using commodity prices.
Full-text publications from the Australian Rangelands Society (ARS) Biennial Conference Proceedings (1997-), Rangeland Journal (ARS/CSIRO; 1976-), plus videos and other resources about the rangelands of Australia.