May 7, 2025 • 6 mins
Our Australian correspondent comments on last Saturday’s election results, record prices for farmland, locust plagues, and why the Aussies aren’t having a say in electing the new Pope.
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
He's our guy across the Dutch Chris Russell, their Assie
correspondent Elbow wins the election. No surprise there. Now, Dutton
was called the Aussie Trump and people just didn't like him,
which is always fatal for a politician.
Speaker 2 (00:14):
Chris, Yeah, well it is, and I mean, in some
ways you can say we're shallow because people do look
at someone and make an instant decision whether they like
the look of him or not, and then worry about
his policies. But whatever it was, they just didn't pay
to him. I think a liberal politician famously said, no
(00:34):
one's ever going to vote with a bloke with a
head shape like that just shows a how shallow some
people can be. But anyway, he is definitely gone. Now
I'd have to say, Jamie, the best is in this
election with the Greens leader has been thrown out on
his ear, and in fact the Green numbers have been
cutting half, so their influence, which was disproportionate their vote,
(00:56):
really has definitely been reduced and the Labor Party won't
be dependent on them for being able to govern, although
they still have significant say in the Senate, so there's
still going to be some negotiation in the Senate, but
in terms of the House of Reps, they're really gone.
And it is good that we've got a majority government
of one color or another and we don't have a
(01:17):
minority government which has to count out all these very
left and right wing pressure groups that would otherwise be
more or less determining a lot of policy. I think
from a farmer's point of view, the next leader of
the Liberal Party looks like he or she will be
from the Bush. The two favorites of Susan Lay who
is from the electorate of Farah, which in southern New
(01:39):
South Wales. She's based in Albury and she's a country
girl and she's currently the Deputy leader. And the alternative
is Angus Taylor, who comes from a sheep farming family
from the electorate to Hume, also in southern New South Wales,
and he's currently the Shadow Treasurer. And so certainly the
Bush is getting a bit more so, but we just
(02:01):
don't have the electoral numbers in the Bush to be
very significant. The National Party, which is our country party
if you like, did very well in this election, well
well supported, didn't lose any seats and in fact increased
their seats. In their say in some seats, so it's
a sort of good and bad news election. The great
(02:22):
thing about Australia late New Zealand is the sky didn't
cloud over, the world didn't collapse. We wake up the
next morning and we carry on business and knew with
no guns, no rights, And everyone's saying, well, that's democracy
at work, Jamie, Chris, did you realize statistically bald men
have a very small chance of making it to the
top jobs and politics.
Speaker 1 (02:42):
So Chris Luxon on our side of the testament is
an exception, but very few bald men make it anyhow.
Let's move on to the price of farmland and Australia
record prices.
Speaker 2 (02:53):
Yes, well this is interesting, and of course a lot
of these prices are not necessarily determined by by agricultural value,
and that's always the concern. But prices for Australian farm
sales jumped almost seven percent last year to all record
average price. And just get a load of this, two
(03:15):
hundred and thirty dollars per hectare. This is farm sales
all over the bush. The taitl of four point seven
million hectares was traded in twenty twenty four, which is
an area larger than the country of Denmark, and the
prices went up so significantly in that period. Of course,
the farm prices inout stricken states like South Australia they
(03:40):
didn't go up as much, only one point seven percent,
but Queensland prices went up nine percent and twelve percent
in New South Wales. So the tallest or the greatest
increase was funnily enough in Tasmania, where prices went up
fourteen percent. I think there's a lot of Kiwis who
sort of hedging their beds and wandering over there, and
they have perhaps used to spending more money on land
on what we are in Australia Jomi.
Speaker 1 (04:02):
Yeah, and better climate for farming. I think Tasmania very
similar to New Zealand, which obviously has a better climate
for farming than Australia. I won't even get an answer
on that one. Look, you not not only have to
put up with an Australia a labor government, but you
also have to put up with locust plagues.
Speaker 2 (04:18):
Yes, well, these have been a thing which has really
been part of the Australian's farming history for many, many years.
I just spent some years doing some research on coming
up with ways of sticking some of these very toxic
chemicals onto the back of the locusts to kill them.
The most popular chemical here is a very dangerous chemical
(04:40):
called ntrathion, and in fact they put so little of
it out now because it is dangerous, Only two hundred
and fifty million liters per hectare So when the planes
fly across the properties, the farmers look up and think
they're getting ripped off because they're not actually getting anything.
But only takes one tiny little five micron drops suck
on the on the back of a locust and that
(05:03):
is enough to kill it. But they've now got millions
of these pairts have descended on parts of Queensland despite
these controls, and the Plague Locus Commission is saying that
a plague is definitely possible if continue conditions continue the
way they are through it till summer. So these locusts
when they go across the property, if you've got your
(05:25):
washing on the line and the locus play goes over
the top, first of all, it gets dark and when
you come out the other side, all your washing's gone.
They'll just take anything with any fiber in it. They're
an extraordinary animal or insect and something that we really
want to avoid. The plague. Locus Commission is run like
a war office. They do a fantastic job, but looks
(05:45):
like this might get ahead of them this year.
Speaker 1 (05:47):
Jomie one Defender Sean. For the first time in seventy years,
no Australian citizen is part of the conclave as a
cardinal to elect the new Pope. Have you seen the
movie with Ralph Fines Conclove, Yeah, I have it.
Speaker 2 (06:01):
It was a great insight into the process. But for
the first time for seventy years, Australia one't have an
Australian citizen actually voting as part of that one hundred
and thirty three member conclave. And Bishop Bichok was appointed
Bye Francis last year, but he's not an Australian as yet,
won't become eligible until the end of this year, so
(06:24):
we sort of feel like we might be a bit
snub compared to New Zealand. Who have you already have
your native grown cardinal voting.
Speaker 1 (06:32):
Jomie, Hi, Chris Russell, thank you very much for your time.
Bring on the white smoke from the Vatican City. That's
going to be fascinating. We'll see you next week, no worries,
He's our guy across the Dutch Chris Russell, their Assie
correspondent Elbow wins the election. No surprise there. Now, Dutton
was called the Aussie Trump and people just didn't like him,
which is always fatal for a politician.
Speaker 2 (00:14):
Chris, Yeah, well it is, and I mean, in some
ways you can say we're shallow because people do look
at someone and make an instant decision whether they like
the look of him or not, and then worry about
his policies. But whatever it was, they just didn't pay
to him. I think a liberal politician famously said, no
(00:34):
one's ever going to vote with a bloke with a
head shape like that just shows a how shallow some
people can be. But anyway, he is definitely gone. Now
I'd have to say, Jamie, the best is in this
election with the Greens leader has been thrown out on
his ear, and in fact the Green numbers have been
cutting half, so their influence, which was disproportionate their vote,
(00:56):
really has definitely been reduced and the Labor Party won't
be dependent on them for being able to govern, although
they still have significant say in the Senate, so there's
still going to be some negotiation in the Senate, but
in terms of the House of Reps, they're really gone.
And it is good that we've got a majority government
of one color or another and we don't have a
(01:17):
minority government which has to count out all these very
left and right wing pressure groups that would otherwise be
more or less determining a lot of policy. I think
from a farmer's point of view, the next leader of
the Liberal Party looks like he or she will be
from the Bush. The two favorites of Susan Lay who
is from the electorate of Farah, which in southern New
(01:39):
South Wales. She's based in Albury and she's a country
girl and she's currently the Deputy leader. And the alternative
is Angus Taylor, who comes from a sheep farming family
from the electorate to Hume, also in southern New South Wales,
and he's currently the Shadow Treasurer. And so certainly the
Bush is getting a bit more so, but we just
(02:01):
don't have the electoral numbers in the Bush to be
very significant. The National Party, which is our country party
if you like, did very well in this election, well
well supported, didn't lose any seats and in fact increased
their seats. In their say in some seats, so it's
a sort of good and bad news election. The great
(02:22):
thing about Australia late New Zealand is the sky didn't
cloud over, the world didn't collapse. We wake up the
next morning and we carry on business and knew with
no guns, no rights, And everyone's saying, well, that's democracy
at work, Jamie, Chris, did you realize statistically bald men
have a very small chance of making it to the
top jobs and politics.
Speaker 1 (02:42):
So Chris Luxon on our side of the testament is
an exception, but very few bald men make it anyhow.
Let's move on to the price of farmland and Australia
record prices.
Speaker 2 (02:53):
Yes, well this is interesting, and of course a lot
of these prices are not necessarily determined by by agricultural value,
and that's always the concern. But prices for Australian farm
sales jumped almost seven percent last year to all record
average price. And just get a load of this, two
(03:15):
hundred and thirty dollars per hectare. This is farm sales
all over the bush. The taitl of four point seven
million hectares was traded in twenty twenty four, which is
an area larger than the country of Denmark, and the
prices went up so significantly in that period. Of course,
the farm prices inout stricken states like South Australia they
(03:40):
didn't go up as much, only one point seven percent,
but Queensland prices went up nine percent and twelve percent
in New South Wales. So the tallest or the greatest
increase was funnily enough in Tasmania, where prices went up
fourteen percent. I think there's a lot of Kiwis who
sort of hedging their beds and wandering over there, and
they have perhaps used to spending more money on land
on what we are in Australia Jomi.
Speaker 1 (04:02):
Yeah, and better climate for farming. I think Tasmania very
similar to New Zealand, which obviously has a better climate
for farming than Australia. I won't even get an answer
on that one. Look, you not not only have to
put up with an Australia a labor government, but you
also have to put up with locust plagues.
Speaker 2 (04:18):
Yes, well, these have been a thing which has really
been part of the Australian's farming history for many, many years.
I just spent some years doing some research on coming
up with ways of sticking some of these very toxic
chemicals onto the back of the locusts to kill them.
The most popular chemical here is a very dangerous chemical
(04:40):
called ntrathion, and in fact they put so little of
it out now because it is dangerous, Only two hundred
and fifty million liters per hectare So when the planes
fly across the properties, the farmers look up and think
they're getting ripped off because they're not actually getting anything.
But only takes one tiny little five micron drops suck
on the on the back of a locust and that
(05:03):
is enough to kill it. But they've now got millions
of these pairts have descended on parts of Queensland despite
these controls, and the Plague Locus Commission is saying that
a plague is definitely possible if continue conditions continue the
way they are through it till summer. So these locusts
when they go across the property, if you've got your
(05:25):
washing on the line and the locus play goes over
the top, first of all, it gets dark and when
you come out the other side, all your washing's gone.
They'll just take anything with any fiber in it. They're
an extraordinary animal or insect and something that we really
want to avoid. The plague. Locus Commission is run like
a war office. They do a fantastic job, but looks
(05:45):
like this might get ahead of them this year.
Speaker 1 (05:47):
Jomie one Defender Sean. For the first time in seventy years,
no Australian citizen is part of the conclave as a
cardinal to elect the new Pope. Have you seen the
movie with Ralph Fines Conclove, Yeah, I have it.
Speaker 2 (06:01):
It was a great insight into the process. But for
the first time for seventy years, Australia one't have an
Australian citizen actually voting as part of that one hundred
and thirty three member conclave. And Bishop Bichok was appointed
Bye Francis last year, but he's not an Australian as yet,
won't become eligible until the end of this year, so
(06:24):
we sort of feel like we might be a bit
snub compared to New Zealand. Who have you already have
your native grown cardinal voting.
Speaker 1 (06:32):
Jomie, Hi, Chris Russell, thank you very much for your time.
Bring on the white smoke from the Vatican City. That's
going to be fascinating. We'll see you next week, no worries,
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