'Invisible' drought hits hard

There is no hay in NSW. The drought is biting so hard farmers need to bring hay in from Queensland and import grain from New Zealand to feed animals on farms.

TOUGH TIMES: Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull speaks with farmer Phillip Miles and his son Jack during his June visit to Strathmore Farm in Trangie NSW, as part of a tour of regional NSW and Queensland communities struggling with drought. Picture: IVAN MCDONNELL

THERE is no hay in New South Wales. The drought is biting so hard farmers need to bring hay in from Queensland and import grain from New Zealand to feed animals on farms. Yet this isn't bad enough for anyone to say we are in the middle of a natural disaster.

State governments used to call drought a natural disaster, triggering millions in emergency help. However in the past decade they refused to make these declarations and it's time we changed this.

It's not news to anyone reading this in many regional areas, but sadly this drought is news to too many in the cities.

It doesn't lead the news and, most certainly, doesn't dominate the political debate.

This week there were signs of change. The NSW Government came up with half a billion dollars of help.

But the cost of this drought will be much more.

Regardless of government indifference and away from the media glare, normal people are stepping up to do their bit.

For years there have been huge charity efforts to bring hay to the farmers and in recent weeks people have discovered they can help from their lounge rooms.

A group called Rural Aid has a great campaign, Buy A Bale, where for as little as $20, you can send hay to people who desperately need it.

In the coming weeks Bunnings is turning over its sausage sizzles to raise money for the charity, and when we mentioned the campaign on Sky News, we crashed the website with people donating big and small amounts to send help.

It's a wonderful example of how Australians react when they see our fellow people in need. We dig deep, we lend a hand and it's something to be proud of.

Thank you to everyone doing the hard yards to get the hay to our farmers and if you haven't yet, jump on the website buyabale.com.au and do your bit to show we care.

WE HAVE PLENTY TO BE PROUD OF

I WAS disturbed to read the findings of a survey put out by Triple J this week that showed 12 per cent of young people aren't proud to be Australian.

It also showed 85 per cent think we have a problem with racism.

The latter is hardly a surprise when this is a survey of people who listen to a radio station that thinks even playing a countdown on Australia Day is somehow disrespectful to Aboriginal Australians.

It is, however, a disturbing insight into the messages being sent to young people about their country when they come to the conclusion that being an Australian isn't something to be proud of.

We are far from a perfect country. But think about it:

we have a universal health care system Bernie Sanders in the United States would dream of;

we have a social welfare safety net that costs $150 billion a year where everyone from unemployed people to people with disabilities are given money from their fellow citizens via the government;

we have a free press; and

we live in a society where the place you are born, your gender or what your parents do are no limit to the person you can become.

It says a lot about the self-loathing rubbish fed to the coming generations via our schools, the media and the left of politics that anyone, let alone a person with their life in front of them, would be anything but proud to be an Australian.

Paul Murray is a broadcaster with Sky News. He can be seen on Paul Murray LIVE each Sunday to Thursday nights at 9pm AEST on Foxtel Channel 103 and 600. Coming soon to Sky News on WIN.