Scarcely a night goes by that we don’t talk about the impacts of the drought, the crisis facing our agricultural sector and the threat it poses to our food security. 

It’s time for Government to bite the bullet and launch a massive, National bailout. Now you might think that’s at odds with my usual position that farmers need to be treated like any other business, but we’ve now reached a point where the big difference kicks in.

This drought has gone on so long that we’re now at risk of losing our valuable genetics – that is, our breeding stock because the cost of feeding and watering animals has become prohibitive. It has ceased to be about what some might call handouts to individual farmers and more about safeguarding future agricultural output.

I don’t buy into this Agenda 21 rubbish that the Government is deliberately trying to send Aussie farmers broke because if we lose our breeding stock, the land won’t be any use to foreign investors either.

So, what we need now is a massive, immediate investment into firstly saving valuable breeding stock and of course, the old chestnut of drought mitigation. We need to see bulldozers in the ground, not just talk.

Now, for a second departure from my usual position, I’m calling for a three-year moratorium on foreign aid spending. I’m not saying scrap it all together, but for the next three years, we spend the money on this drought crisis – even if the drought breaks in that time. That’s about $12 billion. $12 billion buys a lot.

So given this is what’s been on my mind in recent times, you can imagine how I reacted when I saw reports today that some Federal Labor Party muppet has called on the Prime Minister to INCREASE our foreign aid spending? What country do these clowns live in? What planet? Do they not read the papers or see the news?

It’s true that foreign aid spending has been slashed in recent years but now’s the time to redirect it into our own crisis rather than throw more away!