Page 59 of Stockman's Stormcloud

‘What can we do?’ Ash dropped hard into his seat at the table. ‘Harper’s doing what she can from the political side.’

‘Well, I was thinking…’ Dex unrolled the smaller bore runner’s map. ‘In my paddock, I’d like to rebuild the old turkey nests to contain the surface water. For two reasons.’

‘It’s a boggy mess that paddock of yours. Long grass for miles,’ said Cap.

‘I know. But, according to Charlie’s old bore runner’s map, it used to have a decent-sized reservoir where the runoff naturally filled that space. If I can rebuild that reservoir, it’ll stop any runoff flushing towards our neighbours.’

‘Nice.’ Ash grinned.

‘Remember, we copped a lot of flak from the government for rebuilding Starvation Dam.’ Cap the conservationist seemed unconvinced, while Ryder just sipped his coffee and listened.

‘The reservoir is the same as Starvation Dam, a natural watering hole they expanded on. This map proves it.’ Dex circled his paddock on the old map. ‘It’s just hidden under the long grass. It won’t take much to grade it back to make it a part of our water management plan, and to prepare ourselves in case those pricks tap into our water, or if we get a drought.’

‘Drought?’ Ash paused over his coffee cup.

‘Wait, I get where you’re going with this.’ Finally, Ryder showed some enthusiasm. ‘I’ve been thinking about using the possibility of a drought as part of our legal argument that if the mine took the underground water resources, it would destroy us because we need water for stock in times of drought.’

‘So, if we prepare for a drought, we’d what?’ Ash shrugged.

‘I get it now.’ Cap sat up, eagerly nodding. ‘It’ll show thegovernment we’re doing what we can to preserve our water, to sustain our cattle even during periods of limited water availability. Which is in direct conflict with how the mine wants to waste our water.’

‘Harper showed me how water rights are worth billions,’ mumbled Ash from behind his coffee cup. ‘But won’t that give the mine an excuse to say,hey they’ve got plenty of water lying around?’

‘No, in fact, it’ll be the opposite. Everyone in Australia is sympathetic to causes for preventative drought preparations that the lawyers can use to argue our case. Well done, Dex.’ Again, Ryder patted Dex on the shoulder. ‘Does anyone know of any droughts in this region?’

‘Charlie said there was a bad one in 1961-1962. The year his brother disappeared.’ Dex sipped on his coffee. ‘This is so good. I haven’t had a coffee in a week.’

‘Good to have you back, brother.’ Cap patted his shoulder.

‘Now that we’re all here,’ said Ryder, steepling his fingers. ‘I’d like to table the idea of selling carbon credits.’

‘No.’ Cap shook his head. ‘No way.’

‘Hear me out, Cap.’

‘Can you explain what it is first?’ Ash asked.

‘Sure.’ Ryder sat forward, resting his elbows on the table. ‘Carbon credits work like a reward system for helping the environment. Every time we do something good for the planet, like planting trees, we earn carbon credits. These credits represent the amount of carbon dioxide we’ve prevented from going into the air. Companies and individuals can then buy these credits to offset their own carbon footprint. It’s like saying,I know we’re emitting carbon, but we’re supporting projects that take carbon out of the air, to balance it out.’ Ryder pointed to Cap. ‘With you and Mia planting those wildlife corridors and regenerating areas of the property, we can sell the carbon credits.’

‘But we’re a cattle station? Not a carbon farm.’ Ash scratched his head. Dex had to agree.

‘Wehave less than five thousand head of cattle, when this station used to support fifty thousand head. We all know it’ll take time to get those numbers again. And with Cap aiming for us to become sustainable, ethical producers of carbon-neutral beef, won’t us selling carbon credits help that claim?’ Ryder shuffled in his seat and tapped on the station’s map. ‘Look at it this way, we’ll be making money just on the land until our cattle numbers grow.’

‘So basically, we’ll be getting paid for Cap planting his trees, that’s being done to improve our land?’ To Dex it sounded too good to be true.

‘Yes.’

‘How much would that be worth?’

‘Millions.’

Dex and Ash raised their eyebrows at Ryder, then at each other. But it was Cap who wasn’t happy.

‘My problem is,’ said Cap, waving his coffee cup around, ‘who do we sell the carbon credits to? Would we be letting unethical companies duck their environmental obligations?’

‘We can vet that. But I don’t want you blocking those potential customers either,’ said Ryder, pointing at Cap. ‘This is only a temporary source of income, until we’re a fully functioning cattle station again.’

‘We were lucky Charlie and Bree hid that herd in Wombat Flats from Darcie’s son stripping the place of our beef. We’d be lucky to break a couple thousand head worth keeping,’ said Ash.

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