To The Editor
The disastrous visitation imposed on Australian Dairy-farmers was not unexpected.
It has been building up for many years and if you had been following the trends it was inevitable although its final form unknown; invariably it would be accompanied by misery and hardship for honest hard-working Australians.
The number of cows needed to remain a viable business has increased year by year pushed by costs arising from outside the farm boundary. In the beginning it was relatively easy to milk a few more cows or plant a couple more acres of crop. It was akin to a raging fire under the steam-boiler and adding more weight to the pressure relief valve.
All of the increased costs are induced by State and Federal Governments who automatically increase their taxes and charges by the annual inflation rate and this flows right through the community.
Added to this are local government rates and charges; have you ever known rates to be reduced? Capping council rates is another weight on the ‘pressure valve’.
Whenever there is a tariff review or references to the Productivity Commission, it always means increased costs whether it is energy (power and fuel), water for irrigation, etcetera. Farmers cannot pass these costs on to somebody else.
To offer farmers’ loans at concessional interest rates is also an inane response when the total rural debt carried by a diminishing number of farmers is rising each year.
It is not sustainable and will lead to ever more hardship and misery spread throughout the entire population of Australia with the only exemptions the few who live in ‘ivory towers’ who are insulated from the results of their decisions; it is time for a change!
The nub of the problem lies with the financial system and inherent inflationary policies emanating from our Parliaments. The Reserve Bank is a creature of the Parliament and is charged with ‘managing Australia’s Finance’. (Ask your elected Member for a copy of the Reserve Bank Act 1959)
Inflation should NOT BE MANAGED BUT ELIMINATED, and it can be!
This was effectively done during World War II and you can find references in the Australian Year Book, Number 37, 1946-47, beginning page 458.
Chapter XII, Labour Wages and Prices. Section C. Control of Prices during and since the 1939-45 War.
An inquiry into the Financial System needs to be undertaken but not lead by the wolves, (bankers and economists) instructing the foxes (elected politicians) how to manage the lambs and chickens (Australian Public).
It is the Parliament that should be instructing the ‘financial managers’ to implement policies in the best interests of the Australian people or terminate their employment; they must be judged on their performance which at present is wanting.
This also applies to the elected politicians who would rather yield to external foreign and financial interests before serving their constituents.
In the final analysis it comes down to the voting patterns of you, the Australian Voter … when will you wake up?
Louis Cook, Numurkah, Victoria
Some press references for your interest follow …
|
Date |
Article |
Source |
Comment |
|
24/08/1978 |
Howard tips the bucket on farmers |
National Farmer Vol 1 No 16 August 1978 P1 |
Australian farmers will be about $2000 poorer as a result of the harsh medicine dealt out in the 1978/79 Howard budget |
|
13/08/2005 |
Petrol price changes our lives |
Herald Sun, August 13th, 2005, Page 4 |
Mr Macfarlane yesterday told a parliamentary hearing that despite pain for consumers the price rise was beneficial for the economy |
|
29/09/2006 |
Gambler stole $400,000 |
Herald Sun, September 29th, 2006, Page 31 |
A mother of two who turned to gambling to relieve work and health pressures stole almost $400,000… |
|
30/09/2006 |
Personal debt hits $1 trillion |
Herald Sun, September 30th, 2006, Page 19 |
Australian have reached $1 trillion of debt for the first time. |
|
11/10/2006 |
Bankruptcy rate soars |
Herald Sun, October 11th, 2006, Page 15 |
Bankruptcies in Australia jumped almost 10 per cent in past year. |
|
5/11/2006 |
Spiralling debt traps families |
Herald Sun, November 5th, 2006, Page 25 |
Food trolley lightens as rates load up |
|
05/11/2006 |
Higher fees, higher bank profits |
Sunday Herald Sun, November 5th, 2006, Page 25 |
Australians contributed $9.2 billion in fees as banks posted record profits. |
|
18/12/2006 |
Here's cheers to price hikes |
Herald Sun, December 18th, 2006, Page 11 |
CityLink tolls, university fees and electricity bills are among the government approved costs that will go up. |
|
4/04/2007 |
Dairy cows culled |
Shepparton News, April 4th, 2007, Page 1 |
Cattle flow to abattoirs as feed dwindles |
|
23/06/2007 |
Feeling the squeeze |
Herald Sun, June 23rd, 2007, Page 11 |
Households hit by rocketing price of living. |
|
1/10/2007 |
Grants to help farmers leave land |
Shepparton News, October 1st, 2007, Page 6 |
Exit Grants – (Farmers beaten by ‘the system’ must go!) |
|
1/10/2007 |
Drought aid doubts |
Shepparton News, October 1st, 2007, Page 3 |
Agents say they are not sure the Federal package will work |
|
5/09/2008 |
Dairying difficulties |
Shepparton News, September 5th, 2008. |
Study finds area's farmers earnt 40 per cent less than average |
|
15/09/2008 |
Necessary for survival |
Country News, September 15th, 2008. Page 7 |
In light of the drought and increases in oil prices, water and politics, the price means none of us have made any extra money. |
|
3/01/2009 |
Council forcing elderly off their land, says doctor |
The Age, January 9th, 2009. |
They force older people out of their properties … for developers. |
|
28/01/1010 |
Swan shrugs off inflation concern |
Shepparton News, January 28th, 2010, Page 11 |
Treasurer Wayne Swan has downplayed the latest inflation figures |
|
20/06/2010 |
Family comfort sinks |
Sunday Herald Sun, 20th June, 2010, Page 31 |
Price rises hit home. A basic "comfortable" life in Victoria is now beyond the reach … of families. |
|
18/09/2010 |
World is hungry for Aussie farmland |
Weekend News, September 18th, 2010. Page 19 |
Food Supply under threat from offshore investors |
|
22/07/2011 |
Council bickering bill revealed |
Shepparton News, July 22nd, 2011, Page 3 |
Greater Shepparton City Council's internal ructions have cost nearly $50,000 since January 2006. |
|
3/01/2012 |
Who'll drag us free of our heavy debt burden |
The Australian, February 3rd, 2012 |
assistant treasurer Bill Shorten dismissed the claim of profligacy in government borrowing |
|
20/01/2012 |
Council rates pain getting worse |
Herald Sun, January 28th, 2012. |
A major cost of living review reveals Melbourne property rates have almost doubled in a decade, and are up 38% in five years. |
|
11/07/2012 |
Councils just don't rate |
The Weekly Times, July 11th, 2012, Page 21 |
Rocketing local levies leave farmers struggling in their wake |
|
12/03/2014 |
Investors eye golden returns from water rights |
The Australian, March 12th, 2014 |
Australian fund managers are eyeing an increasingly liquid market: water. |
|
19/03/2014 |
A plague of fat cats |
Herald Sun, March 19th, 2014, Page 13. |
Town hall executive wages bill soars as minister questions agendas. |
|
19/03/2014 |
Stop the big cash splurge |
Herald Sun, March 19th, 2014, Page 24. |
Victoria's bloated municipal councils have hit households with rate increases totalling $2 billion above the rate of inflation over the past 10 years. |
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