Australians are seriously dependent on other countries for the food they eat every day. Most of that food arrives by sea. Any interruption to supplies would materially affect the diet of the nation to the point of hunger. It is an absolute fallacy and a hugely deceptive piece of propaganda propagated  by farmer organisations and politicians to claim that Australia is self sufficient in food. Nothing could be further from the truth. In 2020 food to the value of $22 billion was imported into Australia, an increase of nearly 10% on the previous year. The retail value of that food is about $4 ..read more

The new Albanese Labor Government in Australia in pursuing its political ideology on climate change rather accept that Australia is now totally dependent on China for a range of goods, which are critical to the economic security and defence of Australia. Should supply discontinue for any reason, Australia would be quickly and severely damaged. Prime Minister Albanese must make up his mind whether he wants to let Minister Bowen continue to pursue his governments uncosted ideological objective to achieve a 43% reduction in emissions by 2030, or whether his government should tackle a grave situat ..read more

Previously in the  The Global Farmer ‘ I posed the question Is China to Australia what Russia is to Europe?’ I discussed Australia’s reliance on China for being by far Australia’s biggest export market. The heavy burden of dependence that the economy of Australia places on its  mining industries is not often talked about by the majority of Australians. Maybe that is because it can cause a few uncomfortable thoughts, mainly what would happen if China stopped buying from Australia? What would be far worse though, is what would happen if China stopped supplying Australia? The Five Eyes ..read more

There was a car sticker around many years ago which said, “Don’t criticise farmers with your mouth full”. That sticker is truer today than it was then and just as true long before car stickers were the fashion. Some of us have been fortunate to have lived through and been part of the last half century or so of agriculture. Farming today is unrecognisable to what it was when I went to college in the early 60s and even more so looking back back at the fifties. But it is in the last fifty years or so that I believe an agricultural revolution has taken place and it has gone unrecognised by many of ..read more

Princess Royal Harbour, Albany, Western Australia. Albany, where I live, is on the banks of Princess Royal Harbour, one of the great natural harbours in the Southern Hemisphere.  This little historical town with its Mediterranean climate and a population of around 37,000 is the centre for the Great Southern Region of Western Australia. The Great Southern Region with a population of about 60,000 stretches 200 km along the magnificent south coast  of Western Australia and for about the same distance inland. Everywhere in the so-called Developed World homelessness is increasing — people ..read more

Henry David Thoreau, circa 1850. ‘I trust that I shall never thus sell my birthright for a mess of pottage.’ For the sake of future generations, Australia must not give away its birthright for  a mess of pottage. I wrote the following after a long  on-line discussion.  It was the culmination of a larger debate about the real cost of renewable energy. I have tidied up a few phrases for clarity. Thank you for your considered replies. I am in my eighties. My profession is agriculture from farming to science to agribusiness. I have watched this country change substantially over the ..read more

In July of this year a $22 billion proposal by Sun Cable Pty Ltd, a company which is backed by by two Australia  billionaires Fortesque Metals founder Andrew Forrest and and Atlassian co-founder (with Scot Farquhar) Mike Cannon-Brookes was  granted ‘major project status’ by the Australian Government to investigate the building in the Northern Territory of a massive 10-gigawatt solar farm (40 million panels) coupled to a 30Gwh storage facility, which I presume means a big battery. The solar farm will be the size of 20,000 soccer field at Tennant Creek, Northern Territory. The plan is ..read more

China buys 30% of  Australia’s exports. The news that China accounts for thirty percent of Australia agricultural exports demonstrates how reliant the Australian rural economy has become on the People’s Republic of China. That news caused some to question the wisdom of the marketers of Australian food and wine in placing such a heavy reliance on just one customer. That is valid question, but  did you know that  China buys 30% of everything Australia exports. Agricultural exports are just a mirror image of what is going on in the rest of the country. In 2017-18 Australia exported ..read more

Mr Albanese, the Leader of the Australian Labor Party, has a poor grasp of Australian political history. Mr Albanese recently roundly criticised Treasurer  Josh Frydenberg for channeling Margaret Thatcher  and the policies employed by her to ensure the much needed economic recovery in the UK following Prime Minister James Callaghan and his self inflicted demise in his ‘winter of discontent’ of 1978/79. Callaghan finally decided to call a General Election in 1979 after the country had been ravaged for years by high inflation and unemployment.  In 1978/79 strikes in both the priva ..read more

Australians are seriously dependent on other countries for the food they eat every day. Most of that food arrives by sea. Any interruption to supplies would materially affect the diet of the nation to the point of hunger. It is an absolute fallacy and a hugely deceptive piece of propaganda propagated  by farmer organisations and politicians to claim that Australia is self sufficient in food. Nothing could be further from the truth. In 2020 food to the value of $22 billion was imported into Australia, an increase of nearly 10% on the previous year. The retail value of that food is about $4 ..read more