Buffel is a simple grass causing an almighty kerfuffle across the country as it progresses through nomination as a weed of national significance.
The perennial grass (Cenchrus ciliaris) is native to Africa and was accidentally introduced to the Australian outback via seeds hitchhiking on camel harnesses, before being deliberately planted through the early and mid-20th century as a summer-growing pasture. It grows in tall tufts with a fluffy flowering head and has spread through the arid and semi-arid rangelands of inland Australia.
Many farmers love buffel. It is a good-quality, drought-resistant cattle feed. It regenerates quickly after fire and can colonise bare ground, reducing dust and erosion. But its quick and aggressive growth makes it an invasive species, outcompeting natives, and its highly flammable nature fuels wildfires.
Buffel is particularly problematic in Indigenous desert communities, where it takes enormous effort and finances to control. “Buffel grass is taking over our country,” Wanda Miller, a board member with Indigenous Desert Alliance (IDA), says. “It’s changing the landscape, it’s killing native plants and wildlife, it’s changing the fire patterns across Country and increasing the risk and intensity of bushfires.”
It is spread widely through the Anangu Pitjantjatjara Yankunytjatjara (APY) lands of central Australia and has been a declared pest in South Australia since 2015 and the Northern Territory since July 2024, after fires fuelled by buffel grass in 2023 burned more than 100,000 hectares of national park.
At a 2022 IDA conference, APY Warru Rangers presented the Umuwa Statement on Buffel Grass, which led, in part, to IDA nominating buffel as a weed of national significance in January 2025. The nomination has been backed by 83 organisations.
“We need support to get our healthy Country back and the next step is recognising buffel as a weed of national significance to help our communities get better support for fighting this dangerous weed,” Miller says.
Thirty-two species are now listed as weeds of national significance (WONS) based on their invasiveness, potential for spread, and environmental, social and economic impacts. They include well-known pests such as blackberry, fireweed, lantana and serrated tussock.
But some farmers in Queensland say buffel should instead be considered a feed of national significance. “It is the backbone of Queensland’s grazing systems,” says the AgForce Queensland cattle board president, Lloyd Hick. “It sustains the production of millions of kilograms of beef that underpin domestic and international food security. Removing access to buffel would cripple the beef industry.”
Those who farm with buffel understand the fire risk it poses but manage accordingly, keeping pastures short in fire seasons.
Buffel can also act as a coloniser plant, reducing dust and erosion on overgrazed pastures, says the pasture ecologist Judi Earl. She consults on landscape regeneration across Queensland and says past grazing practices have created the perfect environment for buffel grass to shine.
“Native grasses are resilient when managed appropriately but they are very sensitive to being overgrazed – and under continuous stocking, regardless of the environment, they are going to drop out of the system fairly quickly,” Earl says. “When you are left with bare, exposed soil, buffel seems to be able to colonise those areas successfully and provides cover to protect the soil surface. From an ecological and landscape function perspective, having some groundcover is an advantage over having bare ground.”
Whether buffel is considered a friend or a foe depends on circumstances. “It comes back to whether focus is on production or on regenerating native species and a different approach to management is required for each,” Earl says. “If you’re managing for optimal animal production, you will probably be in favour of grazing buffel.”
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The WONS process recognises the opposing uses of buffel, understanding it can be both an important pasture grass and a weed that outcompetes native grasses, but says it is “appropriate that species that have benefits and negative effects are eligible for consideration within the process, to assess harmful impacts and consider any actions that could improve management”.
Ian Thompson is a former national chief environmental biosecurity officer and says the nomination is not about removing buffel from grazing land, but about “limiting the damage on non-pastoral lands”.
But pastoralists aren’t convinced. The AgForce CEO, Mike Guerin, says listing buffel as a weed of national significance would be a slippery slope and feels the grazing industry has not been properly consulted.
“Let’s not shy away from the fact there are challenges from buffel grass,” he says. “Let’s keep the WONS register and respect it for what it is and only put something on when the research has been done. Buffel supports and underpins grazing, it holds landscapes together, it stops run-off to the reef – it does a lot of good things that haven’t been considered. Rather than listing buffel as a weed of national significance, what makes sense is to put everybody in the room and have those tough conversations.”
Final determination of buffel as a weed of national significance is due at the end of 2025.
