Good things do come out of bad, and I’m actually starting to think that while the live export dramas seemed like the straw that would break the camel’s back, it has in fact worked to unite primary producers across northern Australia like no issue ever has before. Apart from getting rid of cruel behaviour by a handful of abattoirs, I’m sure some good will come of it – for example it’s been great to see the networking going on and positive fight-back action. At long last rural people who have never before felt the need to speak out and defend themselves, are doing so now. I’ve been banging on for years about animal rights extremists and I don’t think the threat was taken seriously in the bush. It is now, although I’m not sure that most people understand the demand to cease live exports to Indonesia is just the tip of the animal rights extremist’s agenda. Their aim is to demolish all livestock industries.
Unfortunately what has been highlighted is a chasm not just between urban and rural residents, but between northern primary producers and southern primary producers. The ‘they’re all uneducated, backward rednecks’ view of northern Australians doesn’t just emanate from our largest cities, it is alive and well in closely settled farming areas in southern Australia. Fostered by southern media who delighted in portraying Queenslanders as banana bending hillbillies, afraid their curtains would fade more if daylight saving was introduced. This chasm between north and south (remote and semi-suburbia) has been illustrated by remarks on blogs and it’s very disappointing to see, particularly when southern primary producers have had their own battles to fight in recent years. For example, wool producers have been in the animal rights extremist firing line themselves, over such issues as tail docking and castrating of lambs and mulesing of wrinkly merinos. Crop growers have been in the firing line regarding chemical and water usage and rising water tables and salinity. Anyone in a rural area close to large cities has numerous headaches – from urban encroachment affecting by laws, dealing with odour and dust complaints, rising land values making rates sky rocket, stolen fuel and equipment, stray dogs attacking stock, etc.
Farmers across the world have more in common with each other than with people outside rural industries, so it is reasonable to expect that farmers would have a more thoughtful look at issues affecting the plight of other farmers rather than make instant, shallow judgements in response to an emotive, subjective television programme. Perhaps the scales will fall from their eyes now that it has been admitted that the real aim is to ban live exports to all countries, not just Indonesia. If not, they’ll wake up when animal rights organisations move further down the list of things they want to ban – thus affecting southern farmers directly.
Ultimately, thank goodness for the internet. Rural Australians are a scattered minority, these days often on the receiving end of government neglect and public scorn. Via emails, personal websites and facebook, rural and remote Australians are uniting as they have never done, and uniting to fight for a common cause – respect for rural people, the food producers all Australians are entirely dependent upon.
Tags: Living in the country and remote areas, Australian Beef Industry, Image of the bush