00:02On the edge of Uluru-Katajulda National Park, Indigenous rangers widen a firebreak, doing what they can to stop the
00:11spread of the invasive weed bufflegrass.
00:14It spreads. It's indiscriminate. It takes over things.
00:18Before Uluru was handed back to traditional owners, bufflegrass was planted to control erosion. More than 40 years later, it's
00:27a growing problem.
00:28Bufflegrass is the biggest threat to the World Heritage values, the cultural, natural values of Uluru.
00:36The local Ununu people call it mumu jumpi, which means devilgrass. It chokes habitat and elevates fire risk.
00:45To the untrained eye, this may look like a field of native grasses, but in reality it shows just how
00:51rapidly bufflegrass is spreading around this iconic place.
00:55Parks Australia says the weed has infested around 27 square kilometres, and with eradication now impossible, control is the focus.
01:05What we've got to do is manage the spread of it, and that can happen.
01:09Tourism operators are also seeing the hit to biodiversity, and they're demanding urgent action.
01:15We need to see resources flow through to manage this on the ground, otherwise we're just not going to be
01:22able to put the cat back in the bag.
01:24They want buffle made a national priority.
01:27I can't think of a better location in Australia where we should be drawing a line in the sand on
01:34weeds of national significance.
01:36If we do nothing, it's actually going to cost us way more.
01:41So we have to do something.
01:43A call to repair the heart of the nation.
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01:47You
