18 May 2010 > Don’t axe lifeline to the bush

Farmers up and down the coast are up in arms as reports have leaked that cuts are imminent for regional reporters and their programs that farmers and those associated with agribusiness at large, rely on for credible, relevant, local and up-to-date information.

“Now more than ever our growers need access to current information as industries like sugar rely increasingly on accurate real time reporting. This industry has particularly come to rely on the ABC for vital information transfer,” says Ian Ballantyne, CEO of peak sugarcane grower body CANEGROWERS.

“Rural program such as the ABC’s early morning, local relevant regional rural reports and ABC television’s Landline program are in many cases our farmers’ only up to date source of regional news and information – they are not serviced with the myriad of television and radio stations available to our city cousins, nor daily delivered newspapers,” he said today.

CANEGROWERS has said that many growers still only have access to dial-up or low speed internet connections as the much talked about broadband rollout seems to have rolled-out of the Government’s agenda. “Notwithstanding, it has to a package deal – we need regionalised reporting in the media or farmers would have nothing to go to on the internet,” says Mr Ballantyne.

“If Governmental savings are needed, why not tighten up existing funded programs which have been widely recognised as inefficient, not cut off our nation’s food producers because they are out of sight out of mind for many policy makers. The overspend from one school BER project would underwrite the continued level of ABC reporting.”

Reports indicate that regions up to a thousand kilometres apart will ‘share‘ reporting resources with major centres including Mackay, which is to be stripped completely of a rural presence.

CANEGROWERS is calling for ABC management to ‘come clean’ and if the reports are inaccurate, they should deny the report immediately. CANEGROWERS will be approaching local and aspiring Federal candidates in sugar electorates to support the rural sector in gaining watertight assurances that not only will these vital services be retained, but that they will be sustainably resourced so they can continue their pivotal role in providing local and trustworthy news and information to the bush for many years to come.

“Regionalised updates and local content is mission critical,” says Mr Ballantyne.