Moooo .... ! Don't Worry, Be Happy

I was hoping to write about real estate today, but there is not really that much to say that you don’t already know. In short, the market is pretty flat nationally with Western Australia and Queensland faring worst.

However, there is a glimmer that things may be turning around: my phone actually rang once last week and it has rung three times so far this week and it is still only Thursday.

Much more interesting is the government’s amazing solution to our live cow exports… our cows can now relax in the knowledge that they will be asleep when their throats are cut.

According to world standards, stunning is not mandatory, even in Australia, and despite everything else, not much is going to change in Indonesia.

All our cattle exported to Indonesia will now have to be tracked electronically from the paddock to the plate, as it were, and Australian producers will be responsible for the cost of such tracking and auditing.

The government has generously offered around $30 million to the cattle industry as assistance (read compensation) but in the context of a $300 million industry it should keep them in bread and milk for a week or so.

Kevin, (…. I’m from Queensland…) obviously took my advice and flew up to Jakarta and sweet talked the Indonesians, but the damage done diplomatically and economically is a very sad reflection of the incompetence of some or our government ministers.

Regardless of what one may think of live exports there are intelligent and appropriate ways of doing things and in my humble view the government failed miserably on both counts.

Now do we just wait for the next fiasco? ….

Rest assured we won’t have long to wait! Carbon Tax comes to mind…. stay tuned for my thoughts on that hot issue!