Australia warns of Famine, food shortages, higher prices
Pastor Dale Morgan
*Australia warns of Famine, food shortages, higher prices*
September 28, 2007 11:14am
Article from: AAP
* Howard says food shortages will push up prices
* Does not believe drought will drive many off the land
* Says 'we should keep our heads' about 'climate shift'
THE drought will cause a food shortage and Australians may have to get
used to paying much higher prices, says Prime Minister John Howard.
"There will be a great famine, food shortages and that will have an
effect on prices. We do have to face that reality," he told Southern
Cross Broadcasting in Melbourne.
"We are seeing what the experts call a climate shift, and I do think we
should keep our heads about it. I don't think we should write off farming."
Mr Howard said it was not possible to avoid water restrictions because
of the current inadequate water infrastructure.
More dams the answer
"But if some years ago we had not bowed so much to the greens and had
built more dams, maybe things would have been different, and that
applies all around the country," he said.
Mr Howard said the days of endlessly hosing the car on the back lawn on
Sunday mornings were gone.
The prime minister said he did not believe the drought would drive many
farmers off the land, even though the federal government had doubled
exit grants to $150,000.
Viable farm sector
The government paid such grants to farmers and not to other struggling
businesses because of the special significance of maintaining a viable
farm sector.
"You don't always score these things with total logicality. There is
emotion in it, because we see farming as part of Australia and it is
something very distinctive, the bush, the country.
"Battling on the land is part of our identity and we don't want to let
go of it."
Desalination good for some
Mr Howard said he believed desalination would be good for some parts of
Australia but not others.
He said it wasn't a particularly good solution for Sydney because of the
the prevalence of coastal rain, which meant storm water capture and
recycling was a better option.
But for Perth, desalination was a good idea, and perhaps also for
Melbourne, he said.