When you live on the land, droughts can be soul destroying. They creep up silently, and slowly but surely tighten like a vice. They get into your bones. There’s no knowing when the drought will break, or just how far you’ll be pushed.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
I am a fourth generation sheep farmer from Crookwell, about an hour north of Canberra. When the autumn rains failed this year I reduced my stock by almost half. It looks as though the spring rains are going to be light, so I’m making plans to tighten my belt and sell more of my stock if I have to. We’re now down to our lowest sheep levels since the millennium drought ten years ago.
And I’m not alone. Despite the recent rainfall, most of the state is still in drought or affected by drought. Farmers in many areas are still experiencing worse conditions than where I live. The flow on effects are rippling through regional communities and into the broader economy. If the drought doesn’t break before Christmas there will be a social catastrophe across regional Australia.
Farmers live with the weather. We manage its vagaries and extremes. But this is different. Climate change means more frequent, longer and more intense droughts, and yet our politicians continue to bury their heads in the sand and refuse to accept the findings of climate scientists.
Regional Australians, particularly farmers, are on the front line of the impacts of climate change. Furthermore, we’re at the coalface of the extractive industries. From the Shenhua mine in the Liverpool Plains, through to the Santos fracking controversy at Narrabri, to Adani in the Galilee Basin, my farming mates are not only in the grips of extreme drought, they are also having their entire livelihood put at risk for projects which will only make the climate problem worse.
The boom and bust cycle fueled by extractivism is no longer a viable answer. It’s time for us to change direction. Rural Australia is truly standing at a crossroad.
On Monday I travelled to Canberra to launch a new vision for regional Australia. A vision based on moving beyond extractivism to rejuvenate and revitalise our farms, our ecosystems and our communities.
The agricultural sector contributes 40 percent of our GDP. We have outlined a vision that will enhance the viability, sustainability and ecological diversity of farmers. It will reinvigorate the small communities where they live. It will reverse the rural decline, the drift to the cities. It will make regional Australia a place where people want to move to, not away from.
Our prime agricultural land is already grappling with the harsh realities of a changing climate. Our cropping belt is shifting south, our wheat yields are stagnating or declining and our natural capital has experienced decades of decline.
The Rural Futures Report is the product of extensive discussions with experts, farmers and rural Australians. It highlights once again the disconnect between the community and our politicians.
It shows that regional Australians overwhelmingly want action on climate change. We need to stop digging holes in the ground and start planting crops, pastures and trees.
Farmers and all Australians are tired of the failure of political leadership in this country. They are searching for a new direction and new leadership.
Where is the plan from the federal government? It is time for politicians to face reality and stand up for the future of rural Australia.
Charlie Prell is a fourth generation family farmer from Crookwell.
