It’s not about more money for farmers. It’s about long-term settings for a changing climate – and taking the politics out of it
Central to the Australian meaning of drought is the idea of a rainfall deficiency, a term that suggests less than “normal”. But what is normal and how should it govern drought policy? In this part of our series The New Normal, we look at the history of drought policy and how the conversation is changing.
Away from the glare of nightly television reports showing farmers feeding starving stock, there is a more complex conversation going on among landholders. It discards the idea that policy should be built on the notion of average rainfall, and instead accepts Australia has a drying climate where wet seasons are the exception rather than the rule. It accepts that governments need to put in place a framework for encouraging good management practice for farmers, not only as food producers but environmental stewards, given they manage 60% of the Australian landmass.
Continue reading...from The Guardian https://ift.tt/2O9rRzX
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