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Election 2010 - who are you voting for? 18-Aug-2010 At 10:12:56 AM markq

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On 17/08/2010 superstu wrote:
>Hey, vote for me!!
>
>
>My policy platform:
>

>viii) Stop farming land that hasn't turned a profit in the last 10 years.
>(About 10% I gather)
>viiii) Those farmers can go work for the newly emerging renewables energies
>sector that will thrive under a carbon pollution tax scheme.

Well that took about 3 minutes... what could we come up with if we actually
>sat down and thought about it?

Righto then,

As far as I know (being 3rd generation cattle farmer) The last 10 years have seen the worst drought conditions in Australias Agricultural history. You find me a few Farmers who could happily sit down and say they have turned a reasonable profit over that period of time? Good luck mate. Things are only just now starting to pick up with a bit of rain. Consequently any bloke who had to drop $20 000 per semi-load of hay he had to buy to keep his stock alive for the last 10 years Is probably using that profit to get the bloody bank manager away from his front gate. I'd love to see the figures you "gathered" on what consitutes a profit (and Ill get off the soap box).

So then these blokes are supposed to sell up, pay out the bank manager and forgo 1, 2 or 3 generations of building infrastructure, assets and capital to pass onto the 4th generation of Aussie farmers and go work for a "newly emerging renewables energies sector"

Last month the editor for Australia geographic cam to our place with his journos and photographers to do next issues story. This story is all about climate change. As we all know, the Agriculture industry is responsible for a large proportion OZ's carbon emmisions (but we do all love our porridge and veggies dont we). The Slopes to Summit initiative and the people involved in making it work are educating the farming community to adapt its management processes in the face of climate change without impeding productivity or cash flow.

Ill be thinking pretty hard on election day. The current government (as far as we ve been told) will keep up initiatives like this, treating the cause, not the symptoms. Whether they are any good at anything else? we ll have to all listen to the Bullshit tv ads for the next week or 2 and see what happens when they all cool down.