Napthine was more relieved than shocked by the result in his own seat, and he later bounced back to become party leader. But his near-death experience dramatically reflected the political revolt by RARA - rural and regional Australia.

The causes varied. Among others, he was opposed by an independent who had been sacked after he spoke out against the privatisation of the local water authority, where he worked. And two years before, a State Government that was promoting events in Melbourne such as the Grand Prix and projects such as City Link, Federation Square and the new museum, had basically killed off an ambitious plan for a Centre of Australian Achievement, to be based in Hamilton. This would be a national hall of fame, celebrating the achievements of prominent Australians such as Reg Ansett, who began his transport business in Hamilton. It was partly modelled on the highly successful Stockman's Hall of Fame in Longreach in outback Queensland. Initial funding for the proposed project relied on backing from the Kennett Government.

The issue reached a climax during a packed public meeting in Hamilton, following weeks of stories in the local press about the millions of dollars of benefits that would flow to the community from the new project. Kennett attended the meeting, standing quietly at the back of the hall until all the speakers had had their say. Then he strode down to the front, in an atmosphere charged with expectation that he had come to, in effect, deliver the centre. But he effectively killed it off.

"If it wasn't a civilised society they would have lynched Kennett," says Templeton, who is also a farmer and wool classer. "But at least he had the guts to tell us." Templeton now acknowledges the project's business plan was "flawed".

Since the state election everyone has become consumed by RARA. The Bracks Government talks about the RARA significance of just about everything it's doing, while the coalition holds post-mortems in country towns. Meanwhile in Canberra the punditocracy has pronounced that the next election will be won or lost in RARA-land.

But RARA itself is changing. People are moving away from areas where jobs are scarce and many farmers are sinking further into debt. Rural poverty is shocking and pervasive. But the party researchers, spin doctors and soothsayers are making the mistake of seeing RARA-land as a static entity. Other things are happening - fast.

The Western District's agriculture is rapidly diversifying, with a dramatic increase in blue-gum plantations transforming some of the gently undulating hills and grassland that make up Australia Felix. Sheep and cattle remain the staple, but there is more cropping: wheat, oats, barley, canola and lentils and lupins. Some farmers are even diversifying into herbs such as rosemary and lavender.

Napthine says the lesson for the country is that "you can't just drift and expect things to happen". But the future is strong because of the Western District's "natural assets". Hamilton, often referred to as the wool capital of the world, had been "more reluctant to change than some other districts where farming was more marginal". But now there's a "realisation that change is inevitable. The Western District is better placed in the 21st century than it was some time ago".

Templeton too is "very optimistic". The '90s were "terrible" but this year "Hamilton has never looked better; you can hardly find an empty shop now". Much of the sense of bustle is coming from the money being injected into the local economy through the rapid purchase of properties for blue-gum plantations, with estimates as high as $360million. And, like any good home-town booster, there's a panoply of "downstream" activities the mayor can think of - chip mills, pulp plants, fibre board factories, and sawn wood for the building industry.

So the Western District is throwing up a set of new and old challenges for the politicians - changed land use, industry policy, and the need for new educational courses to match the increasing sophistication of the local economy.

However, there's also a sense of deja vu in the rural animus towards the city. Researching for a speech recently, Templeton looked up a 1930 edition of a local paper. There was an article about the retrenchment of the local schoolteacher, as part of a general government belt-tightening during the Great Depression. "As usual," the correspondent wrote, "the city is belting up against the country."

Andrew Clark is an associate editor of The Age.

-----------------end---------------

Comments:
I table this article to help those curious Americans who have asked for more information about OZ. As this little story says the bush is getting its act together, well, it has to because you overseas dudes keep changing the goal-posts.

Regards from the imaginary level playing fields of Down Under

-- Pieter (zaadz@icisp.net.au), March 13, 2000

Answers

">Link off....Sheesh

Start again - have another go ye mug!

Story Link

The new bush: gums, lavender and wool
By ANDREW CLARK
Saturday 11 March 2000

TWO YEARS before the last state election Denis Napthine knew he was in trouble. There was despondency in the Western District, with disastrous wool and cattle prices, compounded by a sense that the Kennett Government had turned its back on the bush. So he started talking to fellow Liberal MPs from marginal city seats about how they went about shoring up their base. As a result he began a non-stop campaign of sending out flyers and door-knocking.

The rest is history. In an election result that virtually no one forecast, voters outside Melbourne turned on a government perceived to be, in the words of Hamilton Mayor Howard Templeton, doing "everything" in Melbourne while "we weren't getting any of it". Three independent MPs delivered government to Labor, and Jeff Kennett rode his political stallion into the sunset. So few outside the area noticed that Napthine himself almost lost what had been up till then a safe Liberal seat.

Napthine was more relieved than shocked by the result in his own seat, and he later bounced back to become party leader. But his near- death experience dramatically reflected the political revolt by RARA - rural and regional Australia.

The causes varied. Among others, he was opposed by an independent who had been sacked after he spoke out against the privatisation of the local water authority, where he worked. And two years before, a State Government that was promoting events in Melbourne such as the Grand Prix and projects such as City Link, Federation Square and the new museum, had basically killed off an ambitious plan for a Centre of Australian Achievement, to be based in Hamilton. This would be a national hall of fame, celebrating the achievements of prominent Australians such as Reg Ansett, who began his transport business in Hamilton. It was partly modelled on the highly successful Stockman's Hall of Fame in Longreach in outback Queensland. Initial funding for the proposed project relied on backing from the Kennett Government.

The issue reached a climax during a packed public meeting in Hamilton, following weeks of stories in the local press about the millions of dollars of benefits that would flow to the community from the new project. Kennett attended the meeting, standing quietly at the back of the hall until all the speakers had had their say. Then he strode down to the front, in an atmosphere charged with expectation that he had come to, in effect, deliver the centre. But he effectively killed it off.

"If it wasn't a civilised society they would have lynched Kennett," says Templeton, who is also a farmer and wool classer. "But at least he had the guts to tell us." Templeton now acknowledges the project's business plan was "flawed".

Since the state election everyone has become consumed by RARA. The Bracks Government talks about the RARA significance of just about everything it's doing, while the coalition holds post-mortems in country towns. Meanwhile in Canberra the punditocracy has pronounced that the next election will be won or lost in RARA-land.

But RARA itself is changing. People are moving away from areas where jobs are scarce and many farmers are sinking further into debt. Rural poverty is shocking and pervasive. But the party researchers, spin doctors and soothsayers are making the mistake of seeing RARA-land as a static entity. Other things are happening - fast.

The Western District's agriculture is rapidly diversifying, with a dramatic increase in blue-gum plantations transforming some of the gently undulating hills and grassland that make up Australia Felix. Sheep and cattle remain the staple, but there is more cropping: wheat, oats, barley, canola and lentils and lupins. Some farmers are even diversifying into herbs such as rosemary and lavender.

Napthine says the lesson for the country is that "you can't just drift and expect things to happen". But the future is strong because of the Western District's "natural assets". Hamilton, often referred to as the wool capital of the world, had been "more reluctant to change than some other districts where farming was more marginal". But now there's a "realisation that change is inevitable. The Western District is better placed in the 21st century than it was some time ago".

Templeton too is "very optimistic". The '90s were "terrible" but this year "Hamilton has never looked better; you can hardly find an empty shop now". Much of the sense of bustle is coming from the money being injected into the local economy through the rapid purchase of properties for blue-gum plantations, with estimates as high as $360million. And, like any good home-town booster, there's a panoply of "downstream" activities the mayor can think of - chip mills, pulp plants, fibre board factories, and sawn wood for the building industry.

So the Western District is throwing up a set of new and old challenges for the politicians - changed land use, industry policy, and the need for new educational courses to match the increasing sophistication of the local economy.

However, there's also a sense of deja vu in the rural animus towards the city. Researching for a speech recently, Templeton looked up a 1930 edition of a local paper. There was an article about the retrenchment of the local schoolteacher, as part of a general government belt-tightening during the Great Depression. "As usual," the correspondent wrote, "the city is belting up against the country."

Andrew Clark is an associate editor of The Age.

-----------------end---------------

Comments:
I table this article to help those curious Americans who have asked for more information about OZ. As this little story says the bush is getting its act together, well, it has to because you overseas dudes keep changing the goal-posts.

Regards from the imaginary level playing fields Down Under

-- Pieter (zaadz@icisp.net.au), March 13, 2000.

Good morning Pieter-- Sounds like rural problems are rural problems no matter what the coutry.

After meeting with an Austrailian shepherd we were very envious-- He had such mild weather that no barns were needed and no hay had to be made for the winter months. Here in the US the equipment cost alone for making hay is staggering. We are classed as "hobby farmers". Which probably translates into "we couldn't make a living on this farm no matter how hard we tried." We have our real business in one renovated barn and 44 sheep in another. No matter the size of the operation, prices are very low. Wool sold here, after deductions, for $.14/lb. last year. Our entire check was for $41.00! And that was before expenses were taken out. We gave serious thought to just dumping it in the woods and not bothering to transport it to the wool pool.

Thanks for the article. Are you rural or urban? Have friends in Tazmania.

-- Pam (jpjgood@penn.com), March 13, 2000.

Pam,
Thanks for asking. I'm in rural South East of South Australia and we have very dry conditions. Just over the border in Victoria water rationing is a fact. In the far north of OZ crocs are swimming down the main street of villages since the large rains of last week.
Tasmania is fantastic, but the economics are a bit ordinary. Good to see you've joined us in our constant commodities battle...hehe

Regards from Down Under

-- Pieter (zaadz@icisp.net.au), March 13, 2000.