Headlines
Lee Backs the Bush
27-05-08
AUSTRALIAN of the year and country music star Lee Kernaghan has urged his compatriots to recognise that farmers are the backbone of our nation.
Kernaghan, who was crowned Australian of the year for his work helping drought-affected farmers, said the men and women of the land were under-valued in Australian society.
Kernaghan said there were still several areas of Australia seriously affected by drought and he would tour those places.
"I'm just heading out on my own; catching up with as many farming families as I can along the way," the softly-spoken Kernaghan said from beneath his trademark black cowboy hat.
"I'm out there to let them know I care; that a lot of people care about them.
"I guess the main purpose of being out there is to listen, to find out what's going on at ground level and look at how we can rebuild the bush.
"The drought has been of epic proportions; the biggest since the 1890s. But our farmers are renowned for their resourcefulness and resilience.
"They will come through it. Right now Australia needs to stand behind its farming families because agriculture is a huge part of Australian life and a major contributor to the economy."
Kernaghan said other countries valued their farmers a "great deal".
He pointed out that Australian farm subsidies ran at about four per cent, compared to 17 per cent in the USA, 56 per cent in Japan and 31 per cent in European Union nations.
"So they (Australian farmers) are basically battling the drought and doing it all on their own, while also competing with a flood of imported food stuffs that are highly subsidised," he said.
Kernaghan said winning Australian of the Year for his work helping farmers was the greatest honour of his life and nothing would be able to top it.
However, he said the only thing that had changed for him since then was that his life had become a lot busier.
Original source - Author: Julie McNamara, Geelong Advertiser, Date: April 7, 2008
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