"Farm1" please@askifyouwannaknow wrote in message
...
who just haven't got the first idea about anything! but the onus is
on
country people to stop whingeing & educate them. the two lots are
entirely
interdependent, but you wouldn't know that from observing them.

Having lived in the country for the majority of my life, I strongly
think that country people have more idea of the interdependance and
the realities of life than city people do. We've been in drought for
6 whole years but it is only now that the major metro papers seem to
have woken up about it and only then because the cost of food is
really going to bite the city residents.

as a regular reader of city papers (and ex-city dweller), that's not really
so, actually. it's probably fair to say that all individuals have now woken
up to the problem all of a sudden. as an issue, it's just _exploded_
recently, and equally for everyone. i mean, sydney people (and those in
other places) have been experiencing the reality of water shortages for 5
years, haven't they? the fact that most of them don't grow primary produce
only means that for them the situation isn't _dire_ in terms of livelihood
in the short term; but they have been well aware of it for quite some time.
city peeps are generally better-educated and have a much broader view of the
world, their world is just bigger than ours is. i believe it's equally
impossible for most country people to have any idea of what's really going
on in the rest of the country. certainly the media is more accessible, but
it seems to matter less when it's a long way away - it seems a problem
removed, but it's not (as we all live here together).

Lord knows where they
thought (if they did think at all) of where their food came from.

again speaking for sydney - most fresh food there is grown in the sydney
basin - it's local :-) (for now, anyway). again, it seems to take a crisis
(farmland possibly being taken away for development) for people to realise
what might be lost. argh!

Water and how much of it is available has really been much lower down
the agenda because in comparison to the country, our major cities are
relativeley well supplied and taking it from miles and miles away into
the cities..

a critical mass of people gives benefits, that's true. many services iin the
country are crap - it's not just a water thing. (sigh). we don't exist, you
know ;-)

They've been doing soemthing about it for many more than 5 years with
a few exceptions (like Cubbie).

Farmers were talking about Global warming and climate change long
before the bulk of the population. Only the real lunatic city fringe
were talking about those things when I knew of dead boring and very
conservative farmers who'd noticed the impact on their land.

that's a good point you make unintentionally - one problem that both farmers
(as a group, not individually - i'm being very general) and "greenies" have
is seeing the other side as the enemy, when _really_ they're obviously on
the same side. but farmers will NOT accept something a greenie said - the
farmer's association has to say it, & _then_ it's true. anyone can be undone
by their own limited world-view, both farmers & ecologists are no exception.
and yet, "green" farmers are fully accepted (by all parties) on their
results, and so many ecological issues are now entirely mainstream anyway,
so why is there not more cooperation and dialogue? it's not green groups
refusing to speak to farmers, that's for sure! it's just both sides not
thinking about who their allies really are.

and again, you've kind of pointed out unwittingly how the national party
have let their constituents down about this sort of thing. at this time, the
nats barely deserve for anyone to vote for them - so why are farmers & nats
in a cosy little voting arrangement that doesn't benefit anyone in the long
term? (that's rhetorical - i don't expect an answer there ;-)

They had
not only started talking about it but were also doing something about
it. It all started with dry land salinity problems anfdGod knows
farmers have been working on that problem for at least the last 15-20
years..

they have - my point is that it's so bad now it's entirely mainstream (which
is kind of good because frankly nothing can happen until people act
together, part of which is letting others know WHAT they are doing, what
they expect, & how it will help. farmers don't do that. city people have to
hunt down information on what's going on - it's mainly the very small &/or
organic/free range farmers who do all the educating of the broader public. i
think with things like the explosion in farmer's markets & general food
awareness really helps - but equally your typical wheat 'n' sheep farmer has
NO dialogue with anyone beyond his own contacts.

:-)) Well don't we all. But it is a long and not well publicised
battle. If people don't buy or read the rural newspapers or follow
rural issues then they certainly don't see or know of what is
happening. Farmers are **** poor at getting their issues across to
the wider population and I'm not sure if that is because farmers are
such a conservative bunch or because the rest of the population would
rather watch idiot shows on TV to finding out what could come around
and bite them on the arse or what it is.

probably both. but we all know that farmers can (and do) whinge for
australia, but when it comes to advertising their successes, bringing their
experience to other people, & whatnot, they're just not there like they
should be (although i do realise they're busy ;-) - you have to watch
slightly obscure shows on the abc to even realise :-). and so they partly
perpetuate their own p.r. problems & are seen to be taking "handouts" for
"non-viable" properties & whatnot, & all this sort of silly stuff. (and
again, the nats are in a position to do good p.r., but they're too caught up
with which association is mad at them, and trying to appease the libs, & all
this sort of thing.)

perhaps you're right & innate conservatism for one's own worldview is really
the only problem. yet clearly they're not cut & dried just plain
conservative - ime country peeps are very open-minded & do try not to judge.
it must be some sort of "with us or against us" mindset that's just not
helpful. i'm not sure.
kylie