THE POLITICS OF ADVOCACY

THERE seems to be a distinct lack of understanding in today’s society about what actually happens in the bush.

I know this is not a new thought, but after speaking with one of two senators who were travelling through the bush the other day, I realised just how wide the gulf actually is.

The knowledge of rural Australia within the walls of Canberra and the walls of the typical suburban home are not vastly different.

We could attribute this to mere ignorance on the behalf of 85% of the population, or we could look in our own backyard and ask how such a travesty occurred in such a short period of time.

One of the two senators doing the rounds of our rural electorate laid the blame for this imbalance of knowledge and influence within the halls of government and the general population, firmly at the feet of the rural people themselves.

This senator said that agriculturalists had abandoned politics, and agri-politics has become apolitical, therefore a gaping chasm has been left in the engine room of political decisions.

The positions of power and influence were, by default, being relegated to selfinterest groups, who sadly would not know a brahman from a hereford, or realise that we don’t tuck our lambs in bed each night, but rather they live out in paddocks.

These groups do not place any significance upon agriculture, as they have been too well fed and given the freedom to choose from a wide array of local and imported food products, without fear of starvation or lack.

Australia has always been the land of plenty, so people tend to ignore the very industry that seems to feed and clothe them so easily.

The bush has changed inextricably in the past 20 years.

As the profitability has drained from agriculture and the populations have drifted away from rural and regional Australia, so has the belief in our ability to influence the world beyond our own back gate.

I believe this is part of a wide range of issues that are currently causing serious malady in rural Australia.

Drought, lack of profitability, government interference from all levels, restrictive rules, bureaucratic regulations, severe erosion of property rights especially regarding all forms of mining, the dictates of markets and the cost of hiring labour, as well as the shortage of willing workers, have all played a part in causing a shift in belief.

This in turn has caused people to actually start to question agriculture and its relevance to Australia.

Many of you would say there could be no question about importance as our industry is vital – it actually assists in sustaining life. The paradox is genuine. The question that naturally gets asked is how do we possibly change this?

Does the necessary change only come about through an already stretched industry having to regather, and identify our best brains and communicators and sacrifice them to the halls of power in Canberra or the state capitals?

How do we convince people who are so time poor, trying to keep their businesses afloat in very difficult climatic and economic conditions, that they should sacrifice their immediate financial future for the common good?

Mostly the peoplewho seem to enter politics or agri-politics are those who have time butare not necessarily those with the best ability, or else people with a strong self-interest agenda.

Australia is at a crossroads.

Our farming community is aging and the ranks are thinning.

The young people have not been encouraged to take on agriculture as a profession that has a viable future.

The mines are cited as “good money” so why work enormous hours in the bush for little financial reward?

Until we can make a mark in the continuum of discontent and drift from agriculture, we are a nation that has a shaky future.

Forget being the food bowl of Asia, as there will not be the numbers in agriculture to grow the food.

We need to encourage our best minds and communicatorsto take up the mantle.

If we do not place men and women in positions where the decisions are made, then our future will be decided for us by people and organisations withtheir own agendas.

The future of our bush and farm kids hangs in the balance; surely they too deserve a secure future.