‘Quiet Australians’ make voice heard
THERE were two main career paths for the cohort I finished school with in Central Queensland – mining or agriculture.
The academically inclined would go on to study agronomy or engineering, while the practical would become tradies or work on their family’s properties. It was what our parents and grandparents had done and there were no conversations about whether or not it was ethically good.
Back then as the mining boom was building to its peak, we were told by governments both state and federal that we were doing the right thing by ourselves, our region and by the nation.
We were doing the heavy lifting to tip the Australian economy into the next gear and everyone would benefit.
By 2011, that narrative had started to shift.
Australia was starting to take seriously the threat of climate change. Disturbing footage of Australian cattle being slaughtered in Indonesia led the Gillard government to make the stupidest of kneejerk decisions in recent history by shutting down the live cattle export industry.
Mining and agriculture – the two industries regional Queensland had been built on ON THE LONG-AWAITED SPEED LIMIT REDUCTION AT THE TIGER BRENNAN DR/ BERRIMAH RD INTERSECTION
Unfortunately if people are running red lights then the problem remains, whether speed limit changes or not. Sincere condolences to the family. Adrian Zac
What is required is education not a reduction in the speed limit. Nick Sayers
People need to stop trying to get through the lights before they turn red. A lot of red light runners for 160 years were vilified and criticised, mostly by people who wouldn’t be able to tell the difference between a heifer and a dragline.
Our industries were bad and we were bad people for working in them and for relying on them to pay mortgages and put food on the table.
Condescension from city dwellers to regional Australians has always existed, but it reached new heights around this time. around, they are dangerous no matter what speed they drive at. Victoria Bates
You can make the speed limit 40km/h It won’t stop red light runners or people speeding! Clancy Whalan
Changing speed limit won’t help it already has and is broken by many maybe lower the speed limit and put speed bumps in. Ken McCallum
What is required is for people to follow the road rules and with common sense. Ed Thomas It’s just sad that someone has to die before they even consider
We were hicks, rednecks and environmental vandals. They were judgmental pinko pseudo-intellectuals.
Labor paid the price for it when the short-lived Newman LNP government all but wiped out the party at a state level.
Since then, the divide has deepened.
It hit an ugly crescendo in the aftermath of Saturday’s federal election wash-up, when social media was flooded with anti-Queensland and antiregional Australia sentiment.
The simplistic and offensive narrative – that regional Queenslanders were an alien bunch who cared only for themselves and whether they could pay off their mining boom jet skis – ignores the fact that those living south of the Tweed were equally to blame for the outcome. fixing a problem. Jarrad Evans ON CLP LEADER GARY HIGGINS POURING WATER OVER NIGEL SCULLION’S TERRITORY ASPIRATIONS
Really? WTF did Scullion ever really do for the NT at a federal level? Would do stuff all at a local level. Vickie Clarke You guys all need a hobby. Soph Rue ON POTENTIAL USES FOR THE MULTIMILLION DOLLAR INPEX VILLAGE AT HOWARD SPRINGS
Has to be Top End age care. There are so many retirees and old people who have been in the hospital, GEM ward for many years, waiting for available vacancy in Aged Care facilities. Selmah Beere
Wasn’t it supposed to be a big elderly estate? Hector Mauricio Peña
Make some of it a decent aged care facility, Top End needs a bigger one desperately. Phillip Duffield Boundless Possible things can be done with! James Mitchell Well that solves the homeless issue in the NT. Mark Riedel How about letting youth development organisations (like Australia Army Cadets) use it for camps etc. Karen Bryen ON A CRANE TOPPLING OVER AT THE RAPID CREEK FLOOD MITIGATION PROJECT
Crane a bit tired, needed a little lay down. John Hatcher Just having a FRANNA nap. Rick Gosper Lifting the standard. Jamie Johnson WorkSafe NT looking at the incident. Trent Mitrevski Oops! Rosalie Varro