Praying for Rain, Fighting for Fairness…
It’s the driest it’s been in the Otways in over 68 years.
The soil is cracked, the paddocks bare, the dams are low or bone dry. Every sunrise brings another day of dust, of trucks rolling out with stock sold off far below their worth—not because the animals aren’t valuable, but because our farmers simply can’t afford to feed them or truck in water any longer.
This isn’t just about business. It’s about legacy. It’s about watching generations of work, love, and care wither under skies that refuse to open. It breaks your heart.
In the south west of Victoria, we are praying for rain—not just for the sake of the land, but for the people who live and breathe it. The people who rise at dawn, nurse the sick, mend the fences, plant the seeds. We pray for the dams to refill, for the creeks to flow, for the grass to push green again through the brown.
And as if things aren’t hard enough, the Victorian State Government is now proposing yet another tax on regional people and farmers. Another burden. Another slap in the face to the communities who feed this state, who steward this land, who already shoulder more than their fair share.
This has to stop.
We need action, not added pressure. We need support, not more costs. We need policy that listens to the land and the people on it.
If you live in the city, reach out to your regional friends. Ask how they’re doing. Speak up on their behalf. If you’re a policymaker—visit. Walk the dry paddocks. Look into the eyes of the people you are taxing. If you’re a voter, demand change. We deserve better.
This is our home. Our livelihood. Our community.
Enough is enough.
Say no to new regional taxes. Support drought-affected farmers. Demand climate-resilient, fair policy for rural Victoria.
Our good local member Richard Riordan has set up this petition to sign please https://www.parliament.vic.gov.au/.../fire-service-levy/