Weak stuff from the rural group

April 21, 2008, 6:02pm,  158 views

This is a verbatim reproduction of the “top ideas” from the 2020 summit’s rural group, with my comments as indicated.

Response to Climate Change

Water scarcity, resulting from climate change will have significant negative impacts on our primary industries, if we don’t develop a strategy for using our water more efficiently. Water security can be enhanced by incentives to improve water-use efficiency and greater use of high rainfall areas of the north of Australia.

A government unit should be established to consider national and global food security, looking at the context, drivers and emerging trends and new policy options.

The government should investigate and develop a holistic sustainable farm operational plan strategy, including an integrated carbon strategy. Research effort needs to be expanded and there needs to be a clear connection between the latest research and farm adaptation, particularly as it relates to improving productivity.

Comment: More research and more discussion seems to be the gist of it. Pretty disappointing for the key recommendation. I would have liked something more strident like: “Australia acknowledges the regions as valued equal partners in the nation’s development and will actively strive to ensure the equal distribution of services and opportunities.”

Nationwide harmonisation and standardisation

Nationwide harmonisation and standardisation is urgent. This includes uniform regulation, licensing, standards and enforcement for transport (both road and rail) and agriculture.

State and local government regulatory reforms would be encouraged through Federal Government incentives and penalties, linked to the rate of progressive reform.

Future infrastructure investment decisions should be approached from a national perspective. In rail infrastructure, such an approach would help facilitate catch-up and improve both the modality of our current network and intermodal hubbing.

The “The Future of the Australian Economy” stream provides further recommendations on national harmonisation and standardisation. As part of this, there must be broadband access for remote, rural and regional Australia.

Comment: This is Tim Fischer mantra. There’s nothing wrong with it, except the Coalition had plenty of time to make more progress in this area, but didn’t.

Incentives for Sustainability

Further research is required into the potential of north and north-west Australia with particular reference to agriculture.

The Federal government should commission a total soil and hydrological survey of north and north-west Australia by 2010, to inform future production opportunities.

Comment: The group’s best recommendation, but should have been made without a call for research. We should just get on with it.

Attract, Recruit and Retain People and Families to Rural communities

Incorporation of rural studies into a national rural education program that includes life-long learning, and the establishment of centres of excellence in agricultural studies in rural and regional locations.

In classrooms across Australia, children should be encouraged to grow something real.

A voluntary business mentoring program should be established and supported by retired experts to encourage young entrepreneurs in remote rural and regional Australia. This would promote the essential role of small businesses in remote, rural and regional communities.

Public events including major tourist festivals play an important role in rural community life, particularly for young people. Increases in public liability premiums and growing bureaucracy jeopardise the capacity of rural communities to hold public events.

The Federal Government should explore ways of minimising the rapidly increasing costs of community public liability insurance.

Comment: This is really weak. Adding stuff to the curriculum isn’t going to fix the problem of attracting people to regional areas and retaining them. Travelling circuses aren’t going to help either. The answer is to introduce zone tax rebates so people have a financial incentive to live in remote areas.

The insurance stuff is valid, but seems to have been tagged on as a political afterthought. It’s one of a hundred or more issues confronting regional Australia.