Travel to rural and agricultural events – all over the world

February 16th, 2016

Twitter makes it clear how much people involved in agriculture have in common, all over the world.  Most share similar values and interests and have the same sense of humour. Websites, blogs and social media now help innovations spread in leaps and bounds.  Previously, any number of people would be simultaneously working on similar projects, […]

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Social media use in rural Australia

September 29th, 2014

This is how Australia’s bush grapevine now works. On Saturday I drove home from Longreach, taking photographs along the way. I just got a call from a bloke carting livestock, asking if I was in Charters Towers on Saturday. I’d tweeted a photograph of his roadtrain, refuelling at Charters Towers. It was seen by someone […]

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Realism preferable to perpetuating “superwoman” stereotypes

September 19th, 2014

Young women can be left with false expectations and many older women find it daunting, when faced with a bevy of seemingly ultra-capable superwomen, most of whom steer well clear of mentioning any kind of fallibility (mistakes, and what they aren’t good at). So Alexandra Gartmann’s talk at this week’s QRRRWN* Conference was a breath […]

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Many of our top 100 chief executives are from regional Australia

September 11th, 2014

21% of Australia’s top 100 chief executives were born in regional Australia, according to the “Pathways to CEO” research undertaken by the University of Sydney Business School. It is discussed in today’s Sydney Morning Herald and more on the research will appear in the Australian Financial Review’s “Boss” magazine. When overseas-born chief executives are removed […]

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A Place to Call Home

September 8th, 2014

Are television dramas set in rural Australia, good or bad for the image of the bush? I’ve just finished watching “A Place to Call Home” (recorded on digital TV). Quality in every respect. Excellent story and cinematography, interesting characters and top actors.  The icing on the cake? It’s 100% Australian. Set in the 1950s, it […]

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Cyclones and natural disaster insurance

April 11th, 2014

Cyclones (hurricanes) are just a collection of storms that have got organised into a circular movement (due to the earth’s spin) with a falling central air pressure that is sucking in moist air from the surrounding area. Big tropical storms form over warm sea temperatures, during the ‘wet’ or ‘monsoon’ season, when air humidity is […]

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Objective journalism and the ABC

December 29th, 2013

You can give identical film footage, photographs or facts to two different film producers or print editors/journalists and end up with two entirely different stories.  Judicious editing, with specific sounds or music added, can produce polar opposite outcomes (both well away from the truth, if desired). Australian taxpayers fund the ABC so we have a […]

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Australian decentralisation – lip service

November 13th, 2013

I just did a little regional/capital city cost-of-living comparison test.  Entering your postcode into a certain bed retailer’s website brings up the price locals are charged. The average mattress (not a bulky bedframe, just a mattress), costs Townsville customers $200 more than a Sydney resident. Are these mattresses made in Sydney? Maybe they are – […]

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The Farm Fixer; BBC television series, now on SBS Television

June 10th, 2013

British television is sprinkled with television programmes that feature rural landscapes. Better still, they have more programmes that feature farming. The latest BBC farm-featuring documentary to appear in Australia is “The Farm Fixer”; screening on SBS HD, 6pm.  The 8 part ‘reality’ series is set in Northern Ireland, and features Nick Hewer offering diversification advice to struggling farmers.  […]

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Rockhampton’s Beef Week

April 29th, 2013

Rockhampton’s Beef Week is next scheduled for 4-9 May 2015.  Today someone asked me why I attend.  Good question! It is the biggest Australian event of it’s kind and has a special buzz about it; helped by the fact that it’s only held every 3 years, thus efficiently concentrating attendance and the money involved. Here’s […]

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