My drought plea to the Prime Minister

Greg Wilson says:

07:13am | 28/09/09

Jeez,
The farmers want more money - that’s unusual.
The same arguments could be advanced for the thousands of sandwich shops, furniture stores and car detailers that go broke every year due to circumstances beyond their control.
Only problem is they are not a protected species with a (quickly shrinking) political party to push their case.
If farming is such a all consuming business why can National Party members - traditionally - keep their farm going while they are MP or Ministers yet a solicitor can’t?
Before anyone starts on about food imports they should ask farmers where their tractors and 4WDs are built. If you can fly in an air filter from Korea you can sure fly in a case of cabbages!

John A Neve says:

07:31am | 28/09/09

Climate is beyond the control of man. Dry conditions could last another day, week, month or years. To continually pour good money after bad is insane.
If any other business cannot support itself it falls by the wayside, farming should be no different. Viable farms will survive, the others must go.

StevenKrik says:

07:53am | 28/09/09

With the problems in the Muray-Darling I was saddened that stimulus money was not used to build a pipeline from the Ord River area to provide water. It would have a project that provided long term employment and saved the Murray, securing the food bowl of Aust for the future. I was not surprised because we not longer have visionaries in politics, they have become full time politicians who are more concerned with the next election than they are in the long term future of Aust.

Paul says:

08:32am | 28/09/09

It’s time to stop the massive farm welfare state and subsidies. Yes alot of farms will have to be abandoned this century as conditions change.  @stevekrik , what’s exactly visionary about sending water to a farming district cum increasingly saline (salty) desert called the Murray Darling? Are you farming magic or something?

Dan says:

09:31am | 28/09/09

It is still beyond me that some people seem to think it’s okay if we let our farmers ‘fall by the wayside’. Farms are not normal businesses like sandwich shops or furniture stores. Unlike financial advisors, property developers, bankers and Politian’s, farms and growing food are actually essential for your life and mine. Without our farmers a higher percentage of your wage would go to food or, shock horror, you might actually have to grow some of your own.

Sure we could easily import our food from Asia but think of how many more food miles (ie the distance your food needs to travel to get to you) will go into each item. Then you have the problem of food security and finally food quality and freshness.

An example of this is the ‘Made in China’ phenomenon. Remember last year the melamine in baby formula, before that it was pesticides in pet food (dead dogs and cats in the US) then there were dumplings killing people in Japan, not to mention fungicides on couches killing people in Europe. Ask yourself this question: when there is a big chemical spill in China that shuts down the drinking water supply to an entire city for a week, do you think all those manufacturing and food processing plants also shut down? Do you think all the spills are reported?  Do you think they care? Do you think the rest of the Asian countries are any better?

Support your farmers, so at least you know exactly what you are eating.

Mark B says:

10:03am | 28/09/09

StevenKrik raises a good point, if not an original one. It is true that a lot of water is dumped in the north during the rainy season and a lot of it flows into the ocean via the Fitzroy River and others. The Ord River scheme was initially a failure but over time has shown that such interventions as the creation of Lake Argyle can work, to irrigate previously arid land in the Ord River region. We need a bi-partisan enquiry into whether we should be bringing the water to the farms, as suggested by StevenKrik, or whether we should send the farmers to the water, as implied by other commentators. The world has just intervened dramatically in preventing global financial market failure; maybe it is time for Australia to consider a dramatic intervention in agricultural failure, for the future benefit of all Australians, including farmers. Misuse of financial capital caused one mess, and misuse of water has had a role in the demise of the Murray Darling basin. But climate change, whatever its cause, is no doubt making it worse. Surely it cannot be too difficult for a country with so much rain falling on its north in the rainy season, to come up with a plan to “capture and store” water given we are prepared to spend vast sums on fanciful ideas of capturing and storing carbon dioxide. Its possible Australia could become the food bowl of Asia, rather than the other way around. Asia, especially China, is also suffering from a shortage of water. The long term opportunity for Australia may be substantial. Maybe this is what Mr Cobb should be asking for, because decades of perceived hand-outs to farmers by his side of politics are likely to cause an outbreak of cynicism on this side of The Great Divide.

dwest says:

10:30am | 28/09/09

@markb the murray darling is stuffed through rising salinity levels. Water won’t save it. It’s too late. It’s time to face facts and go somewhere else and try some sustainable* farming.

@dan coles and woolies are sending local farmers and family farms out of business at high rates and puppet politicians think that’s ok and greenlight it. Even the Nationals & National Farmers Federation are scared to take on the big corporates. Or they are just corporate puppets? This is an industry without leadership, direction and possibly a future in Australia.

Mark B says:

11:10am | 28/09/09

dwest, you may be right. Certainly there seems to be a failure of leadership from the politicians who claim to represent farmers. It seems paradoxical that politicians who claim to be “conservative” have done little about conservation of land (salination) and water (upstream over-allocation). Yet whenever there is a problem, we get the demand for short term action, such as handouts, and no plan for long term action. Both political parties do this. For example, the massive handout to the unionised car building industry, early this year, should be followed by a study of the long term feasibility of the industry. You would think the lesson of Mitsubishi had been learned in South Australia, yet Australia continues to build large cars based on the General Motors business model, and look where it got them. We know the anguish farming and regional communities go through during drought; why doesn’t the National Party come up with a vision? Why doesn’t the National Party wrap a long term plan into support for an inevitable emission trading plan? Because right now the rural community has no effective advocacy, and the well-meaning plea of Mr Cobb is likely to be seen for what it is; another short term fix.

Joe says:

12:18pm | 28/09/09

Rudd doesn’t care about the environment, just about creating jobs for his city mates who will eagerly trade new carbon credits while the environment sees nothing and we all have to pay more.

stephen says:

12:23pm | 28/09/09

Somethin’ bout imported food that just don’t ring right. Tasted Chinese garlic recently, and it tasted funny. Our soil’s clean ; if you want ‘good’ food, then yer gonna have to pay for it.

Paul says:

12:41pm | 28/09/09

@Dan It’s a tired argument. Water, electricity and medicines are also important to our life and well being. We don’t need endless, unlimited support from government to keep them being delivered. The western districts of NSW were never really a sustainable farming area. Now would be a good time to have a major restructure of the whole area, and move a lot fo families out. No point destroying the environment to keep a few farming families poor

iansand says:

02:28pm | 28/09/09

Translation:  Mr Rudd.  Please do a rain dance.

What do you expect the Prime Minister to do?

RT says:

03:00pm | 28/09/09

Yes, let’s build a water pipeline from the Ord River to the Murray River.  It’s only 4,000km, what’s that compared to the plight of farmers? Then there could be one from the Fitzroy River in FNQ to Perth, because it’s pretty dry there, too.

Hmm, what else could we do? Well, that idea about towing icerbergs up from the antarctic might work. If we open up the mouth of the Murray, maybe we could tow them right up to Bourke. Better get in quick though, the way the icecap in the Antarctic is melting fast.

Actually, with this continental drift, maybe the problem is Australia is drifting too far north and west to drier climates. Couldn’t we, you know, tow it back south so that the weather is wetter, like Tassie or NZ?

Problems solved.

pierre says:

03:52pm | 28/09/09

Farm values are reliant on 2 factors = production volume and income. Mother nature controls output but income is a huge disparity. Cane farmers make ridiculous money for a few months of VERY hard yakka while most farmers are held to ransom by Coles and Woolies etc..time some politician had some guts to even the equation. How about it Mr Cobb and Mr Burke?? Mr Cobb, you’ve had government for 13 years and watched cockies grow poorer…what was your excuse in the subject of farmers’ income? Mr Burke…get off your useless rear! Sort out the issues we can control instead of hoping for never ending handouts of public money while mates at Coles n Woolies n milk companies donate a few bucks to keep politicians quiet in exchange for ever increasing profits by squeezing the farmers dry.
ACCC get your arse in gear! The last ruling on shopping centre is only a start and took too damn long. It’s amazing how every damn politician reckons that all voters are idiotic.

pierre says:

04:09pm | 28/09/09

Every National Party and Liberal MP should be stood in front every farming town and MADE TO ANSWER the income equation!
Every Labor MP who sucked on union money as a prior job should be made to talk to a few farmers in different areas to realise most farmers make bugger all! Err…Belinda Neal or Della Bosca?? Fat motherless chance! They are two selfish unionists bent on sucking tax payers dry…cuz they reckon why not rather than serve the people! How do they get elected ..by getting an electorate full of working class people who assume Labor will look after them. Hey..I wonder how much of Neal and Della Bosca family income goes to Saint Vinnies or Smithies in 2008 or 2007..SFA..I’ll bet. Don’t forget the generous politician super they get. Dont’ ask about 2009 donations cuz they can still back date it. Think like a lying conniving politician and bingo was his name oh!
No cocky wants free handouts but so many need it just to feed their family.
As a city dweller, I’d prefer our bush cousins to make decent income instead of lining corporate pockets.

StevenKrik says:

06:49pm | 28/09/09

Visionary..that would be someone who sees beyond the immediate future.  Beyond their lifetime, beyond their own short term selfish needs/wants to a time when the lack of water becomes a problem not only for the farmers in the Murray (as it now) but also for the major population areas around and beyond the Murray.  You know, the not so important population areas a bit further down the road, inconsequential places like Sydney and Melbourne.

Dave C says:

07:27pm | 28/09/09

Two issues here.
The problem with many farmers is that are competing in a world market for their products. The EU and the USA actually subsidize their farmers to the point where their farmers are paid to overproduce and the ones without subsidies (Aussies) cant compete. Actual dollar prices for the good produced by farms have gone up and down over the years whilst costs for the farmers have only increased with inflation. They only way many farmers have survived has been to produce more and more to cover increasing costs. The city slickers in using government subsidized trains buses and other services need to realise that farmers have it tough.

Now point 2. Suppose we gave no Government money at all to farmers at all. Essentially many would wall away with nothing (the bank would take everything) there would be no agriculture and we would have to import our food. But wait with no farmers spending money businesses in rural and regional towns and cities wont have any income either and a reverse multiplier effect will occur. Towns in rural Australia would die (or in Mr Cobbs case Western NSW). This means that all the country people would move to the coast and cities initially on centrelink benefits competing for jobs. They would then increase rental demand (or house prices if the farmers have enough to get a house) plus put pressure on traffic, public transport, air water and every other piece of city infrastructure.

Is that what all the farmer haters want. No life at all west of the sandstone curtain and more population on an already services pushed city.

Thoughts anyone??

StevenKrik says:

07:40pm | 28/09/09

Dave C…I think you missed one thing in comment.  Now I’m no economist, lucky to balance my bank account.  But wasn’t the global financial crisis caused at least in part because banks had massive amounts of their money in loans that were in default or whatever.  So in your comment we have the banks with lots of land and the millions of dollars owed on that land and no-one will want to buy it.  For those more knowledgeable than me…would cause another GFC?

Paul says:

07:43pm | 28/09/09

@Dave C Plenty of farmers make great incomes, contribute to Australia’s net economic output (ie they don’t import more oil and pesticides than they sell in grain asking the tax payer to foot the difference). These farmers know how to farm properly and make money out of it. They could expand their businesses and become even more competitive. Instead, weak, uncompetitive farmers get to stay put, kept their by irrational government subsidies that weaken the ability of better farmers to expand and be more globally competitive and suck resources from the rest of the economy. If these farmers were forced to leave due to economic realities, yes farming towns would decline, as they have been in Australia for 100 years and the rest of civilization for 200 - 300 years. We want an Australian bush that is contemporary and adds value to the whole of Australia, not some museum of what life was like in the 50’s when wool prices were high. You put forward the highly emotive argument that if we don’t support farmers, we would grow no food and there would be no population west of the ranges. This is obvious rubbish. What would happen is that better farmers would buy out less competitive farmers (as per the rest of the economy), and life would go on. We would get more food produced cheaper.

Where I might agree with you is that we need to ensure that there is sufficient infrastructure in the bush to ensure that people who do choose to live there are not without decent services like broadband internet, health services, education and roads. I can sympathise with an argument that says the country areas of Australia have missed out on some of these services. What I cannot stomach is a plea for cash handouts to keep broke businesses going. Not in farming, car manufacturing or banking.

tom says:

08:54pm | 28/09/09

@Dave C

You put it brilliantly - couldn’t agree more. As someone who has lived in Bourke and grew up on a property in the far west some of the pig ignorant comments on this yarn are frightening.

Take the comments of @Paul where he states “Water, electricity and medicines are also important to our life and well being. We don’t need endless, unlimited support from government to keep them being delivered”

Paul you must live on another planted - every one of commodiities you clam don’t need endless unlimited government support to keep them being delivered are amonst the most taxpayers subsidised products in the country!

Ass for the couple of random innane comments about the Murray Darling Basin being complete stuffed by salt - when was the last time you visited any where inthe Basin - these types of stupid generalisations are unfortunately far too common place amongst the some sections of society,

The US President Dwight Eishenhauser put it best when he said ‘Farming is easy when your plough is a pencil and your a thousand miles from the cornfield.’

Mark B says:

09:26pm | 28/09/09

@Dave C: absolutely correct. What we need is a long term bipartisan plan. The last Government didn’t do it. This government must do it, and the National Party needs to think outside of the nine dots, represent their constituents, and do a deal with the Government. We need rural and regional Australia to prosper, not become another debacle. At the moment we have Liberal and National versus Labor and Greens. The MP’s representing rural and regional Australia need to cut bait on the hapless city-based Liberals, and drown the opportunistic Greens and Independents in a deep dam. If they don’t, the Nationals face certain death. We are all sick of this 50 year old political divide; it only works in favour of politicians.

Paul says:

11:55pm | 28/09/09

@tom, my water isn’t subsidised. In fact, the water utility in my state pays a profit to the Treasury, so quite the opposite. Perhaps yours is if you are a farmer. My electricity isn’t subsidised either. What planet are you from?

And if you want to see the Murray stuffed by salt, visit my state in South Australia. Its salt ridden, acid drenched and dry at the mouth.

I work with farmers who are smart, profitable, educated and can spell. They don’t need government subsidies because they are good farmers and good business people. Why support the crap ones?

Eggy says:

01:47pm | 29/09/09

One little point, what about the hundreds of businesses, sandwich shops and all, that rely on the agricultural industry in Australia. I work in an ag bank there are 90 people here who would be unemployed instantly if agriculture, sustainable or not, ceases in Australia. Not to mention the thousands of on flow jobs. The dealers, mechanics, accountants, doctors, and small business owners, who live both in the country and the city that rely on Australian agriculture.
The economy is the perfect example of the butterfly effect. Yes we need to work smarter but this takes time. Until that time we need government support or the unemployment rate IS going to go through the roof.

Jennie says:

01:48pm | 29/09/09

If the agricultural industry - which is what farmers are - isn’t entitled to assistance during tough times why is the car industry? Millions are being spent on prop ups of manufacturing, but I’m damn sure I’d rather eat a cow than a car.
As far as moving people off if they can’t make a quid… where to? The majority of people who are being supported by the government are receiving money the equivalent of the dole. The difference is that when our seasons go back to normal, farmers again become productive. Should we kick them off the land, put them on the dole, and give them no chance of becoming productive.
Our farmers are smart, intelligent, business savvy and productive. Many of them are leaders in their field. Which begs the question, what would they do for a quid if they are taken out of their area of expertise? Its like asking a sacked banker to go into construction or - god forbid - farming.
It’s not a matter of supporting crap farmers. Its a matter of ensuring a nation wide industry gets through an incredibly tough time.
In the area I live, we have been scratching for crops for nearly 10 years. One year we thought it was going to be great, but a week of massive frosts put a bumper harvest into the chook food category. That’s not bad management, or bad farming practices. Its a pain in the bloody acreage…
Subsequent little, scattered or ill timed rain over the past almost decade has done nothing to help the crops grow. My god… even in the cities there are water restrictions. Doesn’t that say SOMETHING!!
So, I say again, if the agricultural industry isn’t worth support, why is the car industry, the banking industry and everything else that has had money thrown at it because some Wall St clown decided that we are having a global financial crisis.

Mark B says:

08:05pm | 29/09/09

@Jennie 1.48pm: because the people you vote for haven’t done the right thing in representing the long term interests of farmers. When the times are good, they are out to lunch. When times are bad, they demand a handout. No-one is against farmers, but those that don’t understand farming think farmers are all rich rural aristocrats who put their hand out for money when the rains don’t come. In addition, the Howard government sought to sideline the National Party, and they succeeded. Who is paying the price for that?

Claire says:

10:25am | 30/09/09

Did people miss the basis of John Cobb’s letter?
I know there is an ideological and economic debate going on here about sustainable farming and people like Paul, who I would never like to fall over in front of, or heaven forbid make a spelling mistake, for fear he would kick me, have strong opinions about that. But we are talking about people, people who are in trouble now! They are not asking for tax payers to pay their mortgages, give them an unlimited bank guarantee, a first home buyer’s subsidy or to run their local ABC childcare centre, they are asking for money to feed their families.
Just like any other Australian they have the right to expect/hope that, should they find themselves without income, the Nation will provide them with the means to keep body and soul together. Yes they probably could put their farm on the market, but until it’s sold that is not going to feed them, and while they own that farm they will never qualify for any Centrelink money because they are asset rich.
So should we deny them the equivalent of the dole, as Paul would have us do, he seems to think that that form of “subsidy” is a means of keeping crap farmers farming, his solution would certainly clean up that pesky problem; with no money, no dignity and unable to pay for the petrol to drive to access any form of mental or physical health support I am sure we would soon reduce that population for him. Let’s not forget we are talking about areas and people that have the highest suicide rates in the country.

Please don’t forget in all this that we are talking about PEOPLE. Proud people, with families, who are used to working hard to make their money,. John Cobb is one of them. He is pretty blunt and straight forward, if he fluffed around out there he wouldn’t keep his seat for long. He would not write a letter like that if he hadn’t already been ignored by the Agricultural Minister, who had his first visit to a farm after being sworn in. He would not write it unless it was necessary, John Cobb is writing about many of his friends and family members. This is about people, not politics, salinity or ideology. It’s about the support you should be able to expect as the citizen of a country like Australia.

Eggy says:

10:44am | 30/09/09

Mark B 08:05pm: The people I voted for hadn’t been in power for 10 years before the 2007 election. Now they are they are pandering to the idea that farmers are greed monsters that rape the earth for profit. We are still an agricultural nation, right or wrong. Like the US supporting the car manufacturers (one of their biggest industries but ONLY in the north) withdrawing financial support from the national farming industry now will send our economy into spiral. Yes, like the banking industry, instigate reforms to make the practice better, to not do that is a step backward but to cease funding the industry in the middle term is economic suicide. Our country cannot survive on selling education alone.

Ty Collins says:

07:04pm | 29/10/09

Thank you so much for posting this letter it really helped me with my school report on the murray river

Leomar says:

10:35am | 07/02/12

That is an amswoee picture.My mother has some really old picutre of my great grandparents on one side of the family in some kind od similar wagon.I’ve always loved looking at those old pictures.I don’t blame you though, hay is nasty.