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Drought is affecting farming families
23 Oct 2008
The drought is having a severe impact on farming families says a report to be released today by a seven-member expert panel. The minister for agriculture has promised to take the report into account to balance a productivity commission report into drought support policies. Panel member Lesley Young, national president of the Country Women''s Association of Australia, said the current crisis was not just affecting men and farms. "It''s not. It''s about the whole family situation because, quite often, we heard stories about women who had to move off the farm, out of the community, take their children and go and live in another area to get a job," she said. The panel found that increasing numbers of boys were leaving school early to help on the family farm. Women are increasingly seeking off farm employment to support the family. Volunteer and sporting activities in many communities were also suffering as farming families struggled with fuel costs and depression. "Women and children, both on farms and in communities generally, appear to be bearing a large part of the emotional burden of dryness," the report said. "They are expected, and willing, to step up and provide support on the farm, the business and in the community. Many of them are exhausted and without social support networks of their own."
The Australian, 23/10/2008
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