Mr RAMSEY (9:42 AM) —During the winter break I took the opportunity to travel extensively throughout my electorate—far west to the Aboriginal community of Yalata, to the southern regions of the Yorke and Eyre peninsulas, the lower north and then to the far north including Marree, Oodnadatta and Coober Pedy.

While much of the southern parts of my electorate are enjoying seasonal conditions which are running closer to normal, the northern regions are still well and truly in the grips of drought. Some of the large cattle stations in the Oodnadatta-Marree area have not experienced useful rainfall for three years, even though I must temper this advice with the news that last weekend Oodnadatta received falls of 28 millimetres; however, they were patchy and inconsistent, and the four millimitres recorded at William Creek was not uncommon.

This, to some extent, is the nature of these properties, and those that live and work on them understand this and allow for this type of outcome. However, they are being stretched in this instance to the very limits of their endurance. Theoretically, high commodity prices at the moment should compensate agriculture for the rapid rises in input costs. Unfortunately this just cannot occur where we have total production failure. This is just the case we have been dealing with in our more marginal cropping zones and our large inland pastoral properties.

Anna Creek Station is the largest cattle property in the world and at full stocking rates carries about 30,000 head. When I visited in July they were down to 300. Staff had shrunk from nine to three, and the last of the cattle were expected to leave within weeks. Even by the standards of the hard men of the Birdsville and Oodnadatta tracks things are decidedly grim, and this pattern is repeated commonly across vast areas of the South Australian outback. The ramifications of this large destocking to the viability of the local communities are significant. The loss of a generation will come back to haunt not just those who live in this difficult part of the world but also those who love and appreciate the beauty and the legend of outback Australia. There are serious questions among these communities as to whether they and their industries can survive in the current economic, environmental and political environment.

Further south along the northern cropping zones, across the upper Eyre Peninsula and upper mid-north, while the current season still offers some hope, the situation is very similar. The loss of skilled human capital is threatening long-term harm to the region. The costs associated with the cropping region are even more pronounced and the penalties for abandonment of these areas are even higher to the communities and to the environment.

The government has appointed an expert committee to tour Australia, taking evidence as to the appropriateness of current drought relief, including the exceptional circumstances arrangements. Their recommendations will encapsulate Australia’s attitude to our rural population. Do we as a nation want to make sure that our traditional economies survive, that the keepers of the outback Australian legend survive? Do we want caretakers for our inland environment or do we abandon that part of the nation to feral pests and weeds? I wish the committee well. (Time expired)