Dear Editor,
There is something incredibly special and unique about our Mallee communities that is at threat.
This region was late to be colonised due to harsh weather conditions and a lack of available water. Families and farmers in this district persisted in the face of droughts and floods and forged a legacy, our communities were built from hardship and failure but in spite of this townships still flourished.
These “frontier towns” are made of sterner stuff and the people that live here know that to survive we need to band together and support one another.
As the government, and the private companies they have delegated responsibility to, seek to harness this area’s natural resources for power and industrialisation they are successfully dividing our strongly woven communities.
We need to take a stand in this moment and band together. We cannot lose our connectedness due to political agendas and the promise of big dollars.
Whatever your political leaning, whether you are for or against proposed changes to this region, your individual choices impact the community as a whole and there is no shying away from that.
I ask that each community group and organisation take care as we move forward into this new landscape. You will be approached by private companies, energy parks or mining organisations, and they will be offering your organisation donations and sponsorship.
When you accept this money, you then become complicit with that company’s financial agenda. The donation you accept will then be publicised by their PR teams, splashed across their brochures and reported to their shareholders as proof of “community engagement”.
You are telling these companies that they are welcome to do business here. You have spoken for the community as a whole – do you have that right? These private companies are looking to tick off their “social licence” obligations, nothing more. They have no investment, beyond monetary, in your community, your town, your farm. But you do.
Each community organisation needs to sit down and establish a protocol or policy that governs who they will receive sponsorship or funding from, that reflects the values of that club or committee. This policy needs to be inclusive of all members of the community.
People moved to this district to farm, to enjoy the vast horizons, the clear skies, the peace. People stayed because of the community they found. What you have here is rare. Value it. Your integrity is the rarest resource this country has.
Your sincerely,
Marian Haddrick
