Stuart Electorate

The Hon. G.G. BROCK (Stuart) (15:09): Today, I would like to bring the attention of the house to some of the discussions I have had across my electorate over the last few weeks regarding the impacts that are evident and already being felt across the grain industry with the growing season we have just experienced.

Whilst we all know the state government is working hard with the commonwealth government and various organisations in various locations, I think it is very important that we keep the impacts, and views of many of our farmers, in the public domain. During this period, I have visited and spoken to various farmers and small business operators in the following locations: Pekina, Orroroo, Booleroo Centre, Willowie, Jamestown, Peterborough, Laura, Carrieton, Wandearah, Appila and Wirrabara. In many cases, farmers have either no crops to harvest or very low-yielding crops, and in many cases many will not have any seed for next year's sowing season.

I had the opportunity to talk to many farmers who have had to destock their animals, because they need to sell their animals at whatever price to get some cash flow. In many cases, they just do not have the feed to be able to provide for their animals and, therefore, they must get rid of their stock to be able to survive and also to make certain of the viability and wellbeing of what stock is left. In one case, a farmer had just loaded onto a transport about a quarter of his 3,000 stock and went inside where he was met by his six-year-old child who asked a question: 'Are you okay, dad?' This was the most emotional statement I had heard during my visits over the last few weeks. Here we have a six-year-old child already experiencing the anguish that the parents are trying to hide from their children.

However, in addition to their own concerns for their own personal direction, there are lots of concerns for those small businesses in their communities as they are already feeling the pinch and, as we know, if a township business cannot survive then that could be the beginning of the exiting of these communities as we know it. Most of all, I saw that the survival of their communities was one of the greatest concerns that was explained to me over the last few weeks when visiting these farmers. However, these communities are very resilient and know one another, and there are supports in these situations to ensure that their future and, in particular, their mental health conditions are being monitored by their own people.

I attended a community barbecue at the very small community of Willowie last Friday—a very small community where there was an open invitation to come and enjoy a barbecue and a few drinks, to talk and to get out of their normal environment, even for a very short period of time. This was very well attended and from discussions I was able to get a far more intimate knowledge of their feelings and emotions, and I came away with some good suggestions from these people.

At Jamestown, I have been coordinating with Mr Mark Blake from the Jamestown Apex Club, whose club has taken on the initiative to hold a community event called '24 Drought Resilience at its Best, where there will be a meal, free kids' activities and live entertainment. This event is being supported by the Jamestown Apex Club, the Jamestown and Rocky River Lions clubs, development communities within Gladstone, Spalding, Yacka, Laura, Stone Hut, Tarcowie, the Mid North Suicide Prevention Network, and associated agricultural services within Jamestown itself.

At this event, which is generally supported by various farming agents, plus Northern Areas Council, there will be people from PIRSA, Rural Business Support, Rural Aid and other associated organisations that will be able to assist those travelling this journey, particularly the children of those families involved. They envisage that there will be around about 2,000 people attending. The event will be free and they have a budget of around $80,000. They have already raised around $69,000 due to the support from various organisations, including Northern Areas Council.

People are asking what can councils do. With this in mind, the Flinders Alliance councils—being Port Pirie, Mount Remarkable, Northern Areas, Orroroo-Carrieton, Peterborough and Flinders Ranges councils—are working together to see what they can do as a group to assist those in this grave situation.

I pay my respects, consideration and admiration to the people out there. Country people, regional people, are very resilient. I know that we will get through this. The thing is, we all need to work together in the one direction and not get this out of perspective. We need to make certain we get the opportunities to support these people in this trying time and make certain we come out of it with the best opportunities for the new season.