Despair as crippling drought hammers Australian farmers

The good news is that locals are now contributing to various fund raising efforts to help farmers.

Record breaking high temperatures, and droughts, on every continent except Antarctica, and the ice cap is melting down there. Maybe we had better do more to address global warming, before it is too late?

Climate change certainly feels more and more real as the years go by.

too bad our goverment is not helping them out, instead they gave money to Indonesia because they had a earthquke

Turnbull gave half a billion dollars to a group pushing to mine the Great Barrier Reef, and an awkward hug to farmers. Is it just me? our leaders seem so disfuncianal.

Turnbull's "generous" drought package is AUD$12K per farmer. And that money is NOT available immediately.

On the flip side, he's been pushing to give AUD$12bn of tax cuts to our big four banks, banks that have been exposed in constant fraudulent criminal activities over the better part of a decade including well and truly ripping off this very same primary production sector (even had a bank repossess a farm with zero legal basis).

Our utterly vile "government" trumpets this as "the right thing for the country", "fiscally disciplined" and "totally economically responsible".

Turnbull's "generous" drought package is AUD$12K per farmer. And that money is NOT available immediately.

$12k is not enough for many, but I also think it has be means tested in some way. There are vast differences in the circumstances of individuals. I think the program will have to be expanded considerably, so we need to make sure its targeted. I hope they can really shift into high gear in getting that funding out. I think you will see cattle grazing all over the place, side of the road is common, sporting ovals etc.

On the flip side, he's been pushing to give AUD$12bn of tax cuts to our big four banks, banks that have been exposed in constant fraudulent criminal activities over the better part of a decade including well and truly ripping off this very same primary production sector (even had a bank repossess a farm with zero legal basis).

Our utterly vile "government" trumpets this as "the right thing for the country", "fiscally disciplined" and "totally economically responsible".

Company tax cuts will need to be offset and I am yet to hear a viable plan from the government on what other taxes will be increased or services cut. The government is running budget deficit after deficit and it needs to end. I'm fine with modest company tax cuts and they are pretty modest IF a spread of tax increases takes place over a broad range of taxes to not impact any area too significantly and any unnecessary spending is cut.

Fundamentally the federal government needs to implement a complete audit of its spending and so do state and local governments.

Can see the drastic changes of these global droughts thru satellite photos:

https://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/images/92490/heatwave-turns-europe-brown

http://www.esa.int/spaceinvideos/Videos/2018/07/From_green_to_brown_in_a_month

http://www.esa.int/spaceinvideos/Videos/2018/07/European_drought

http://www.esa.int/spaceinvideos/Videos/2018/07/Denmark_scorched

http://www.esa.int/spaceinvideos/Videos/2018/07/Berlin_battles_heatwave

90 day forecast for Tamworth shows prospect of maybe 30 -50 mm of rain which is barely anything. Maybe the farmers who have not already done so can get some money by selling their land to fracking companies who will poison all the aquifiers and raise CO2 emissions and fill the rivers and streams with chemicals. Fire season is also coming up in Australia and this summer will be brutally hot with El Nino conditions from November. Australia needs to focus on planting trees and developing renewable energy and ditch beef and dairy farming and fossil fuel exploration. But they will not because this is the age of stupid

ditch beef and dairy farming and fossil fuel exploration

While there is a demand for beef, dairy and coal, it will continue. There is no sign that any of them are on the way out. Meat consumption is increasing in developing regions that are rising economically, Asia etc which more than offsets any cuts in the Western diet. Dairy is a mainstay of most peoples diets, going nowhere and China just had a massive 40% surge in coal imports and S.E.A along with other regions will continue to import coal for some time.

We have to be realistic about what is achievable.