The Payne-Fletcher Report of 1937 offers an intriguing array of commentary on the environmental attributes of the Northern Territory. It also makes some comments – though far fewer – on the role of Aboriginal people in Territorian life and on the admission of indentured Asian labour. This article sets the report’s commentary on both environmental and racial issues in the context of contemporary anxieties over Australia’s tropical north. It argues that Payne and Fletcher’s most innovative recommendation was for Australians to cease worrying about the Territory’s sparse population and focus instead on wringing profit from the land.

中文翻译：

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领土争端：1937 年佩恩-弗莱彻报告

1937 年的佩恩-弗莱彻报告提供了一系列关于北领地环境属性的有趣评论。它还对原住民在北领地生活中的作用以及对亚洲契约劳工的接纳发表了一些评论——尽管要少得多。本文在当代对澳大利亚热带北部地区的焦虑背景下，对报告中的环境和种族问题进行了评论。它争辩说，佩恩和弗莱彻最具创新性的建议是让澳大利亚人停止担心该领土人口稀少的问题，而是专注于从土地上榨取利润。