Plenary, Part 1. Question-and-answer sessions. Following some of the spoken presentations, there were a few questions from the floor. The questions and answers were recorded. While logically they would seem best to follow directly after the relevant paper, we believe they now read better as a group at the end of all the papers. They strongly reflect the mood of the day, and no longer directly follow from the more carefully crafted and much longer written papers as published in this book. The decision of the editors has been to include these questions and answers as the first part of the plenary. What follows is an edited version of the questions and answers that followed the talks. The editing was directed at making the spoken word readable. The questions and answers are presented partly to illuminate a point, but mostly to set the tone for the final plenary by letting readers see the depth of comprehension of, or confusion about, the ecology and management of Australia's arid lands that existed in the theatre on the day of the forum (Chris Dickman, Daniel Lunney and Shelley Burgin eds).