In the lead up to the NSW State Election some Australian Green’s candidates have been claiming they are the farmer’s friend (Wolves’ ain’t so bad, Jeremy Bradley, February 10, The Land, pg. 26). Certainly there is no reason for continued conflict between conservationists and farmers in a land so vast and resource rich as Australia.
However, I have noticed that the Australian Greens have a tendency to demonise farmers – particularly irrigators and particularly over the Murray River.
Most dramatic stories have these three important characters and the Australian Greens tend to tell the story thus: the river is portrayed as the victim of over-extraction by the villain, the greedy farmer. Meanwhile, the Australian Greens paint themselves into the story as the rescuers.
[Read more…] about A Real Opportunity for the Australian Greens to Be the Farmers’ Friend
Jennifer Marohasy BSc PhD has worked in industry and government. She is currently researching a novel technique for long-range weather forecasting funded by the B. Macfie Family Foundation.