[permaculture-oceania] IMPORTANT PROGRAM - SURVIVING THE DROUGHT ON ABC RADIO

[P Ferguson]

SURVIVING THE DROUGHT - A SPECIAL NATIONAL BROADCAST BY THE COUNTRY HOUR

In the face of one of the most widespread droughts to ravage rural 
Australia, the ABC is presenting
a special national radio program - Surviving the Drought - on Wednesday 18 
October across ABC Local
Radio at 12noon (and 1pm in Tasmania), live from the NSW town of Condobolin.

All Australians will be touched by stories of the people, the places and the 
problems facing rural
and regional Australia in this special edition of The Country Hour, 
Australia's longest running
radio program.

In this first for the ABC Local Radio network, capital city metropolitan 
audiences will be able to
join those in regional Australia to hear The Country Hour and be part of 
this important discussion
of the drought and its impact on the nation.

With guests including town residents, politicians, farmers, weather experts, 
business owners, young
people and rural counsellors, the broadcast will be held at the NSW 
Department of Primary Industries
Agricultural Research & Advisory Station on Trundle Rd, 10 kilometres east 
of Condobolin. ABC Rural
National Editor Leigh Radford will co-host the special program with Libby 
Price, presenter of The
Country Hour in Victoria. Alice Plate is the producer.

Members of the public are invited to attend, where a community barbecue will 
be provided.

WHY CONDOBOLIN?
Condobolin (pop. 3,800), approx 500km west of Sydney, is close to the 
state's geographical centre
and is one of Australia's most drought-affected towns. A recent heat wave 
and hot winds destroyed 70
per cent of the region's crops. Condobolin is also home to one of the 
state's largest grain silos,
but it's barely operating because of the drought. The area has received $21m 
in drought relief from
the NSW Government alone, as well as substantial amounts of Federal 
Government Exceptional
Circumstances aid.
Wool, wheat, sheepmeat, cattle, fruit and mixed farming are the main 
agricultural activities around
the town, located at the junction of the Lachlan River and Goobang Creek. 
With morale in the area a
serious concern, the resourceful residents of Condobolin have taken over a 
local pub and turned it
into a community centre, where all kinds of events are held - from movie 
nights to hosting
politicians.


The Surviving the Drought program will include an update on the current 
state of the drought in each
State and the Northern Territory. It will also be available to audiences 
around the country and
internationally as a podcast.

For more information or The Country Hour podcast, go to 
http://abc.net.au/rural/

-----------------------------------
For further information contact:

Tony Allan,
Executive Producer,
ABC Rural
PH: (03) 9626 1742 / 0422 462 817
E: mailto:Allan.Tony at abc.net.au
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