The following is an attempt to rationalise the problems facing regional
Australians from my perspective as a resident, small businessman
and farmer in regional WA. The organisation Sustainable Economic Growth
for Regional Australia (SEGRA)
has been created to give Regional Australia a voice. More great initiates
can be found on the Bank
of Ideas, Initiatives for the Development of Enterprising Actions
& Strategies I see it like this. The Australian Economy is functioning much like a
100acre sheep paddock. The sheep graze the whole paddock and then camp
under the trees at night where they empty out (crap). As a result there is
a migration of nutrient from the paddock to the camp where the grass grows
rank and is wasted. In Australia big companies and governments are transferring
the economic nutrient from the bush to the city where is is squandered.
Tourism is one of the few industries that can reverse this economic
nutrient cycle. It is important to get people from the city into the bush,
not just for the economic reason but to help them understand the challenges
farmers face. Farmstays
have a place to play in this, city people can visit farms and have a chance to
appreciate
our farmland and the challenges that farmers face. Australia's long term security is dependant on a
viable and sustainable farming sector, this is under threat.
With most people now living in cities, our politicians continue to
focus on the interests of their city constituents, overlooking the fact that
without a viable, sustainable farming industry cities can not exist. With Australia's
worsening balance of payments importing food will become less and less of
an option once the mining boom ends. The plan to plunder the water recourses of the
Yarragadee
to supply Perth is yet another example of the damage of city centric
government.
The big four banks all pull economic value from the bush but are
reluctant to provide services, fortunately the Bendigo Bank have developed
the Community
Banking program, an innovative concept developed to provide communities
with a means for facilitating economic revitalisation and the enhancement
of local services and infrastructure It is said that the great walls, that were only built
around some ancient cities, were built towards the end of these great
civilisations, when the city traders needed to defend themselves from the
farmers who they were ripping off. I sometimes think that our civilisation
is approaching a similar situation! Change is starting to happen, driven by
thinking
people who see that there is another way. This is happening
through activities like Farmers
Markets , Organic
Farming, Permaculture
and the Slow
Food movement. All these are getting back to core values,
recognising that money is important but not the basis for all decisions.
Barry
Green, Managing Director, Western Tourist Radio.
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