Agreement secures Gulin Gulin's future

Another beast headed for the markets in Asia

In any market you think of, it pays to deal with the biggest supplier. And in the case of water buffalo they don't come any bigger than the Gulin Gulin Buffalo Company, the Aboriginal-owned and managed business which has risen to become Australia's biggest harvester of buffalo.

Gulin Gulin started operations in 1987 and has been totally owned by traditional owners in the Bulman region since that time. But while it has steadily built its business, it has lacked a formal agreement with the traditional owners on whose land it operates.

Now, after a period of negotiations conducted by the Northern Land Council, it has secured a Land Use Agreement covering most of the country in the Wilton River region around Bulman. This will guarantee exclusive access to the country for the next five years.

The Agreement was ratified at the Northern Land Council's 83rd Full Council meeting on 14 November, which directed the Arnhem Land Aboriginal Land Trust to issue a licence to Gulin Gulin under section 19 of the Land Rights Act.

The future now looks bright for Gulin Gulin. The company is already profitable and earns most of its money from the export trade, specifically into the Brunei market. It will also now be able to put in place sustainable mustering strategies to ensure it can keep up with the demands of a growing marketplace.

In 2002 Gulin Gulin mustered around 1,500 head of buffalo, and in 2003 it expects to repeat the performance. Any profit it makes is split equally between reinvesting in the business and making a return to the traditional owners.

However, although some 30,000 buffalo are thought to be running wild in the Bulman region - making it one of the biggest herds in Australia - Gulin Gulin has always had to contend with the impact of illegal operators both on the herd and on the price buffalo meat fetches at market.

Armed with its new agreement, Gulin Gulin will now be in a much better position to secure the help of landowners in tackling this problem. Gulin Gulin board member and Jawoyn Association Chief Executive Robert Lee said traditional owners were looking to the long term.

Gulin Gulin board member and Jawoyn Association Chief Executive Robert Lee

And while Gulin Gulin's owners are keen to grow the business, they also want to limit the environmental damage caused by the buffalo.

They do a lot of environmental damage, no doubt about that, on springs, riverbeds and all that sort of stuff. So what we are trying to do with all this mustering stuff is to try and focus on keeping the numbers at a sustainable level so they don't damage the country.

Robert Lee