Let’s be blunt about the country…

Ziggy says:

02:43pm | 07/03/11

Get dung beetles.
It was the lack of health facilities that drove us back to the big smoke.
And you have to put up with some country attitudes that regard you as an outsider forever - a bit like the Norfolk Island scenario.Plus the way they manage to destroy all that good fresh produce by mysterious cooking methodologies. In the end they give up and - presto - you have yet another Chinese restaurant!
I grew up on a farm in another country and the same comments would apply - except we had dung beetles.

Gregg says:

02:44pm | 07/03/11

Depends on where you are in the bush Badger as to flies being a problem and I do pretty well in the bush without the NBN and it’s money that will be ill spent.
Exactly how do you reckon it will be an enabler when eMedicine is a myth other than all what they do now and have been doing for over a decade
And eEducation!, what a joke for all schools can already access plenty of information at current internet speeds already existing so it can even be recorded and then used on a fast inhouse system.
Your burrow is probably too close to a city/town to really know what you’re on about.

The Badger says:

03:05pm | 07/03/11

Gregg
No such thing as Emedicine, Education is fine as it is.
What we do now is all we will ever need to do.
Don’t tell me, you also don’t believe in AGW either.

acotrel says:

08:27am | 08/03/11

Tory, ten years ago I moved from Melbourne to Benalla.  I’ve not regretted that for a minute.  If I have to go to Melbourne, I get depressed. Up here , I’m retired, and it’s like being on a continual holiday.  I have the usual stroke and heart problems which go with my age, but if I die tomorrow, I’ve had ten years of REAL LIFE!
p.s.  Had a good laugh about your concern with snakes and spiders.  Just be careful when you pick up corrugated iron which is laying in the sun. And don’t try to kill snakes.

acotrel says:

08:50am | 08/03/11

@ Ziggy,
‘And you have to put up with some country attitudes that regard you as an outsider forever’
Heve you got an inferiority complex?

Northern Steve says:

10:24pm | 08/03/11

NBN?  You’re kidding, right.  My exchange was on the list for upgrade to ADSL.  Since the NBN was mooted, upgrades to ADSL have stopped.  I doubt that I will get the NBN at my place, and if I do, it’ll be at least 5 years away.  eMedicine also has its limitations.  For starters, it doesn’t actually increase the number of doctors, which is the big killer in our health system.  Doesn’t matter if they’re in Sydney or Oodnadatta, there aren’t enough.  Doctors also rely on physical touch and proximity for much of what they do.  Money would be better spent at the local school or hospital than on fibre to every single home, particularly when a quarter of people aren’t even going to use it.

Gregg says:

12:11am | 08/03/11

@KH,
Most country people other than two misguided and incompetent independents know that NBN will do SFA for them, don’t need it, don’t want it and know that the expenditure will be just helping to stuff the whole country a long way further down the drain and you know whose backsides all that cabling ought to be forced into, preferably with frayed ends.
Most expenditure will btw be in cities and towns and btw, I never have too much of a problem getting a park whatever city I head to and no problem with the traffic either if you time your passing through either side of MN.
You just need to think outside the square when doing your weighing.

persephone says:

05:59am | 08/03/11

Au contraire, Gregg.

Most country people are embracing it with enthusiasm.

Huge take up in Armidale, for example.

There’s a recognition amongst country people that a lot of the problems they face due to distance can be overcome by better communications infrastructure.

No problem getting a park? Of course not, if you’re willing to pay big dollars. Doesn’t compare to parking directly outside the shop you want to go to (for free) then driving to the next one and doing the same.

And no, we don’t have to time our trips to make sure we can get through the CBD in reasonable time.

btw, those two statements make it fairly obvious you’re not a country person, so I wonder why you think you’re able to speak for them?

Dave Sag says:

09:23am | 08/03/11

In the 1920s rural people resisted electricity, and then the telephone too, arguing that they had no need of it, it was dangerous, and it was too expensive.

I’m frankly not shocked that most people don’t get the transformative nature of the NBN.  I recall in 1996 trying to convince my friends that having an always-on internet connection was a good idea. Most people scoffed at the suggestion of installing a second phone line for that purpose, yet 15 years later who doesn’t have broadband?  The difference between having what we call broadband today and the sorts of applications that the NBN will deliver will utterly transform the way people, both urban and especially rural will live.  It’s just that most people lack the imagination to really see that.

One small example I often cite is the rise of 3D Printers that can print very small, or quite large components made from ceramics, metals, glass and of course other components.  These are now as cheap as €250 (ie the Rep-Rap) and more sophisticated ones range in price from $1000 (The Maker-bot) to high end systems costing hundreds of thousands of dollars.  Also consider that, when the first laser-printers came out in 1995, they were around $15,000 to buy and replaced linotype machines that cost many hundreds of thousands of dollars.  3D Printers will improve in quality and price and the NBN will provide the sorts of bandwidth needed so that a typical farmer can download and manufacture, on site, one-off custom machine parts, or fencing materials, or building materials, or whatever he or she needs, when needed. 

Critics of the NBN fail to understand that the future ain’t what it used to be and that everything, physical products included, is simply information that’s been wrapped in hardware. Ten years ago there was no YouTube, no World Of Warcraft, no Maker-Bots.  Faster dataflows bring massive changes because more is not just more, more is different; much as a grain of sand has very different properties to a sand-dune.

Keith Hammersmith says:

11:31am | 08/03/11

Dave Sag,  When you read the comments form critics of the NBN, i think you are missing the point..
No one is saying that the increase in technology is not needed or a bad thing, -  not at all
what critics are saying is there is a better way.
Like what the US is doing ( the US is getting private enterprise to fund the new 4G wireless network).

thats the issue,  I am in IT,  and I have not met anyone in my industry that thinks that fibre is the way to go,  not one. 

yes I am for improved infrastructure,  just not insanely expensive infrastructure that will be outdated before its finished.

Brian B says:

04:41pm | 07/03/11

Geez Davo, it’s a wonder you didn’t continue your little rant by reminding us (again), that AFL is the World’s greatest sport, all other codes are rubbish, blah, blah, blah.

I like Melbourne, but you might be surprised to learn that intelligent life does also exist north of Craigieburn. You just need to have a look at it and you might even like some of what you see - but you’d never admit it!!

persephone says:

07:48pm | 07/03/11

Regional Victoria has been growing faster than Melbourne.

And why not? Excellent services, accessed by good roads and an improving train system.

As for Tory’s gripes:

1. You don’t need to live near major commercial enterprises. Presently, I am listening to: a cricket, a distant dog (very very distant) and my kids watching TV. It’s very very quiet.

We have the very occasional gas gun for a limited time over autumn.

Other than that, I think the neighbour’s river pump’s about it.

Oh, and the bird noise in the morning - and my roosters can be a bit annoying, but I’m the only one they bother. Everyone else sleeps through it.

(Hint: way to get me off the net early morning: dispose of roosters).

2. Our water source is apparently in the top ten cleanest in the world. The river banks are too steep for cattle to access it easily.

I don’t think any of the local industries use chemicals (this is actually a sad story; the crops which needed the chemicals aren’t commercial anymore…)

3. Safe as houses. Noone locks doors, even in town. Noone locks cars. If the kids go wandering at the local show, ten people will tell you where they are before you even start to worry about them.

As for snakes - oh, what a city slicker you are!! 

Snakes - like most creatures - will go out of their way to leave you alone. If you leave them alone, there’s no problem.

And housing’s as cheap as chips here - you can still get a reasonable 3 BR home in town for less than $200k. Spend double that and you’ve probably got a pool and a couple of acres.

acotrel says:

09:01am | 08/03/11

@persephone
‘And housing’s as cheap as chips here - you can still get a reasonable 3 BR home in town for less than $200k. Spend double that and you’ve probably got a pool and a couple of acres’

SSSH!

Asrael says:

04:26pm | 07/03/11

What puts me off is lack of employment. There is little work that doesn’t come with a tractor or animals attached. Retail work is retail work and twice as dicy as a permanent occupation as it is in the city. Tassie is lovely and if I had an income that was not dependant on an employer, I’d move there in a flash.

FelicityC says:

04:39pm | 07/03/11

Asrael you probably have talents you dont even know you have so just go with the flow. Nothing ventured nothing gained and if the worst comes to the worst you could always come back but doubt that would happen if you give it 100% effort and put trust in your own ability to survive. Go on give it a go.

persephone says:

06:13am | 08/03/11

Asrael

Er, it’s not all about farming.

My friends are doctors, nurses, teachers, physiotherapists, lawyers, shop keepers, tourism operators, pharmacists, acciountants, high level managers, etc etc.

My sister had the same concern - can’t move to the country because there aren’t jobs. I pointed out she only needed one.

She got it (nearly twenty years ago now) and hasn’t looked back.

Jeb Baker says:

11:52am | 08/03/11

Reply to : FelicityC says:
It would appear that you are a “Greenie “FelicityC.May I suggest you don’t think about moving to Tasmania,just do it. One less Greenie on the mainland ,and one more in the Tassie Backwoods Wilderness is fine with me.

The Badger says:

03:59pm | 07/03/11

Would you like to volunteer for a teleporting experiment?
I think you would make an excellent subject.

Aasq says:

04:52pm | 07/03/11

Where to, Tony ? What country did your family come from, or are you Aboriginal ?

MarK says:

07:57pm | 07/03/11

Being Aboriginal has nothing to do with being Australian.

Rob says:

11:02pm | 07/03/11

You’d be out of here like a shot, eh? Deserting your post in all of the finest traditions of the true patriot?

Then do it. Leave. Go on, get out. Isn’t that the slogan?: If you don’t like it, then leave? You could even try doing a Pauline, and move overseas. Hell, if you hurry, you might even be able to get a seat next to her on the plane when she has her next epiphany and realises that NZ accept less boat people than we do.

Aasq says:

06:18pm | 08/03/11

So what, Mark ? I asked Tony because if he is then Australia is where his family are from.

fairsfair says:

03:56pm | 07/03/11

I actually enjoy driving and one of my most treasured posessions is my car. I think restaurants are only for special occasions, I am not into drinking or lound music and if I do partake in the odd tipple I prefer to at a BBQ with friends. I buy all my books online as they are overpriced (even exchanged second hand ones) at book stores. I’ve also picked up some cracking non-mainstream reads at my local Vinnies.

Not all regional people are conservative and you have to be a “type” to want to live the inner city lifestyle. I certainly don’t judge you for that, but you must recognise that not everyone is like you, shares your interests and beliefs.

For someone so progressive you certainly come across as very closed minded. Frankly I could do without some inner city individual stating that all people from regional areas are closed minded bigots. We aren’t and if you had a car and could go for a drive, you’d probably have already worked that one out for yourself.

LauraBoBaura says:

04:19pm | 07/03/11

@fairsfair. Agree 100%.

Judge Holden says:

04:29pm | 07/03/11

I think Progressivesunite is confusing broad-mindedness with something else, judging by the comments about gross suburbs and conservative country folk.  I’ve lived for a brief time in Darlinghurst but was driven mad by the constant noise and activity and the ever present smell of carbon monoxide..
A lack of convenience is really the only downside to country living, but the upside of this is that you waste less money on frivilous entertainment and eating out. The internet means that many people can work from anywhere they choose, can shop from anywhere they choose and stay in contact with the outside world very easily.
Not that I’m advocating a mass exodus from the cities - you guys would just ruin it for the rest of us out here!

Diamantina Dick says:

04:40pm | 07/03/11

“In my wild erratic fancy visions come to me of Clancy
Gone a-droving down the Cooper where the Western drovers go;
As the stock are slowly stringing, Clancy rides behind them singing,
For the drover’s life has pleasures that the townsfolk never know.

And the bush hath friends to meet him, and their kindly voices greet him
In the murmur of the breezes and the river on its bars,
And he sees the vision splendid of the sunlit plains extended,
And at night, the wondrous glory of the everlasting stars.

I am sitting in my dingy little office, where a stingy
Ray of sunlight struggles feebly down between the houses tall,
And the foetid air and gritty of the dusty, dirty city
Through the open window floating, spreads its foulness over all.”

Exerpt from “Clancy of the Overflow” A.B. Paterson

Yeah, the city is a great place to visit, but there are other choices of where to live too.

Unfortunately you come across like a “Manic monkey from inner city nirvanaville” and maybe could be a little more open minded.

Kate says:

04:51pm | 07/03/11

@progressivesunite   “people in the regions aren’t often as broad minded as those in the inner city and frankly I could do without conservative people being shocked by gays, Muslims etc…”——-Hello narrow minded generalisation. 
I can’t imagine where anyone gets these ideas….   This is not my experience.  There exist compelling examples that demonstrate the opposite is true.

MarK says:

08:00pm | 07/03/11

“Someone also has to mention that people in the regions aren’t often as broad minded as those in the inner city and frankly I could do without conservative people being shocked by gays, Muslims etc….. “

It is hard to describe the depth of absolute fail in this sentence.

Jim says:

08:02pm | 07/03/11

“Frankly I could do without some inner city individual stating that all people from regional areas are closed minded bigots.” - that is the absolute truth Fairsfair!
We country people have experienced more, faced more challenges, lived a fuller life than anyone who thinks the trip from Newtown to Sydney Uni is too much!
They can’t really comment until they’ve lived both…I have lived in both and you can give me the country towns any day.

Jade says:

08:42pm | 07/03/11

I notice a lot of country people rushing to defend the supposed open-mindedness of country people. As someone who spent 18 months living in rural Australia (a town of 3000 people) and who taught at a school of the air, I can say that progressivesunite is being quite kind in his assessment of regional attitudes.

Charleville and surrounds had some of the most racist, bigotted, homophobic people I have ever had the misfortune to encounter. And I was ostracised for being initially shocked at the openness of these attitudes.

James1 says:

10:11am | 08/03/11

In Innisfail, I found the locals mostly incredibly closed-minded and rude, especially to perceived “outsiders”.  The Italians hated us for being Irish.  They also (in Italian) constantly bagged the Asians that lived in town for being immigrants (the Italians were the most racist immigrants I have ever seen).  The Aborigines hated everyone who wasn’t an Aborigine, including the Torres Strait Islanders, and the TSIs hated the Aborigines back, although by and large were very friendly to us.  Having also lived in Western Sydney, I actually found Innisfail less racially tolerant and harmonious than I did Western Sydney.

fairsfair says:

11:52am | 08/03/11

I can’t defend Innisfail James - it is a strange town. It has always seemed to have a sense of entitlement, particularly worsened following cyclone Larry. Irrespective though, I am certain there are some decent people within.

I am of Irish decent and I grew up 40mins north of Innisfail. Our little regaional town was very multi-cultrual and it worked for the most part. There was the odd loose cannon, but they were quickly set straight. We all get on well and appreciated what we have. Indians, Chinese, Gays, Muslims, Irish, Cane Farmers, Cairns commuters - we all just made it work. We were outsiders when we moved there, because we weren’t born in the hospital or had any relations outside of our immediate family - but you just have to live your own life and not give a crap about what others are doing. The hospital is closed now.

If everyone stopped worrying about what everyone else was doing the world would be a much easier place. Ah, that ain’t gunna happen!

I am interested in your take on FNQ though. Cairns has a bad attitude toward visitors - ironic given we are a “tourism hotspot”. I think it is more of a misguided anger at the fact our politicians repeatedly fail us in the development of a single industry economy that is on borrowed time. Scratching the surface of regional areas soon proves that it is never a straight up issue, there is always some sort of undercurrent that is usually based on the fact that we are being left behind. I don’t think that can be disputed either - we are being left behind.

James1 says:

12:12pm | 08/03/11

Would that be near Babinda, fairsfair?  Some of the best Sundays of my life were spent at the unfortunately named Golden Hole.  I always found Babinda far more welcoming than Innisfail, and more generally I don’t think that Innisfail can be generalised to all rural/regional areas, or FNQ specifically.  It is, as you say, a very strange place.  I always thought it was the humidity doing things to people’s brains, but as it turns out the people in other parts of FNQ are insane in a completely different (and far preferable) way to those in Innisfail. 

The Irish thing was tough for me - I moved there from a neighbourhood that was 80% Irish Catholic, and we were raised with an immense pride in our Irishness that bordered on chauvanism.  We had always looked down on the Scots and English, and to suddenly be in the minority at the local Catholic school was quite shocking.

James1 says:

10:17am | 08/03/11

I live in Canberra and having lived in rural areas, regional centres and proper cities, I find Canberra on balance to be wonderful.  Firstly, there are good jobs for university educated types.  Secondly, the facilities are awesome - heaps of specialists, excellent hospitals, and some of the best funded public schools in the country.  Thirdly, its not like living in a city at all - there are trees and bushland and birds and kangaroos and a general “country” sort of feel to the place.

Sadly, it comes with the expense of living in a proper city, but given that I am a university educated type, we can cop the expense quite easily.  Also, there are a lot of wankers here.  Once at the Farmers’ Markets, I actually heard someone (who was purchasing biodynamic, organic produce, of course) say “Canberra is so much like Europe - everyone is so much more progressive and moral here”.  I thought I had crossed into South Park-land or something.

Steve of Cornubia says:

11:09am | 08/03/11

And, worst of all, you have to put up with Jon Stahopeless, who has steadily turned Canberra into a fun-free zone. I presume there is still no pub/kiosk/cafe at the Cotter? How many years since the fires now?

My daughter went beck there to see some friends recently and they couldn’t decide which pub to go to, so I said, “Why not go to both of them?”

James1 says:

12:15pm | 08/03/11

You presume correct, Steve.  They have also slapped a price on entry to Tidbinbilla Nature Reserve.

I sincerely hope that one of the two pubs you recommended wasn’t Mooseheads.  Personally, I prefer The Front in Lyneham - great for winding up the lefty undergrads from ANU.

Northern Steve says:

11:26pm | 08/03/11

While Noosa is not Mlebourne, it’s not exactly country either. 
I suggest that if your commute was 130km each day, then the problem is not the country, but the fact your chose to live too far from your work.
I live country, and have a 10 minute commute, seeing as I live 9 mins out of town.  After living in Brisbane, I love it.

Malibu Stacey says:

11:55am | 08/03/11

Okay, so typing my location in the location box didn’t mean that my location was published. Insert eye-rolling here. I’m in Mudgee.

LauraBoBaura says:

12:44pm | 08/03/11

Ah Mudgee. It’s a cracking little town. I lived 60kms out of Mudgee (Hill End) for years & I loved it. Elton’s breakfast. Yum.