The Sydney Morning Herald from Sydney, New South Wales, Australia • Page 8

8 www.smh.com.au MONDAY, JANUARY 10, 2000 Ehe jSjjbneu Pontine Garden plan to give pies a pass and lamb a chop Organic growers put down new roots WffliMlK tYr "SOTS 4P 1 S-H .1 A A By ANDREW STEVENSON Rural Reporter Goodooga, population 350, is officially NSW's "town with no says health official Mr Stuart Gordon. If you want fresh vegetables, you'd better have a car. Lightning Ridge, the nearest town with a supermarket, is 74 kilometres away and there's no public transport. The best food you can buy in Goodooga is a pie at the pub, which also acts as the de facto store since the only retail outlet closed six months ago. Children queue at a side window to buy milk and bread.

The situation is so bad the Far West Area Health Service has invested $15,000 in seed capital to try to establish a market garden for the community, Mr Gordon, the health service's general manager, says. "When you can't go down to the store and buy an apple, an orange or a tomato things as basic as that it's ridiculous. "We would see trying to provide fruit and vegetables for the community as a significant a role as providing emergency care." The small Aboriginal community has the land rich, deep soils on the banks of the Bokhara River but the citrus trees already planted have a bleak future if a secure water supply cannot be guaranteed. Mr Warren Mason, who says he's the town greenie, has the vision of inspiring his people to plant their own garden and stop eating so many lamb chops. "There's a base of young people here who want to have a go at it We've been away and seen how things are done, and we want to do it properly," he said.

What the market garden lacks is $30,000 for a functioning pump, some diesel fuel and adequate fencing to keep sheep out With the sun and soil, Mr Mason says, the site, on the Mogila sheep station, owned by the Aboriginal community, will grow anything. Mr Ron Lane, who also works in the market garden, says: "It's no good trying to cure something once you've got it It's all got to come down to education and prevention. We hope by doing this we won't have people on dialysis machines in 10 years' time. At the moment, our town doesn't eat well all they eat is chops and chops." The health service cannot afford to fund the garden, so the growers will approach the NSW Department of Aboriginal Affairs and the Department of Land and Water Conservation for funding. "There's lots of growers out there and they could produce more but they're not prepared to put the money in because they don't perceive the demand to be there." He acknowledged that price was also an obstacle.

Organic equivalents are frequently 50-100 per cent more expensive than lines sold by discount fruit markets. "But if people know why organic produce is more expensive, and Vhat they're getting for that increase in price, they're happy to pay it once they've tasted it because it tastes better," he said. Woolworths is running a countrywide pilot program in at least 60 supermarkets and is looking to assess consumer responses in September. Coles carries a full range of organic fruit and vegetables in 20 NSW stores but is concerned about guaranteeing supply before stimulating demand. In Sydney half the market is serviced by home deliveries.

Mr Richardson said: "The highest organic sales are done in the eastern suburbs of Sydney, and it just gets less the further out you go." Andrew Stevenson The organic food market is making another attempt to escape its niche status, with supermarkets testing the water, and the launch of a central marketing service. The Go Organic hotline, with a free-call number and a Web site, aims to link prospective consumers with their local organic retailer, while raising the profile of organic fruit and vegetables. Despite increasing interest, prompted by the controversy over genetically modified products, organically grown food still accounts for less than 1 per cent of the Australian market The industry's challenge is to persuade consumers to act on their positive perceptions of organic products while convincing farmers to tap the potential. Mr Peter Richardson, who conceived the Go Organic Hotline, wants to push conventional farmers to organics by showing that benefits flow from a higher profile in the marketplace. "The supply of organic food is really low.

We cannot get enough growers to produce organic food for the market," he said. Secure water supply needed the Bokhara River is up now, but often it is too low to irrigate the surrounding land. Photograph by Michael bowers 3 11 A Long applause for short filmfest 1 1 I I XH x- i i I i i I i If c. Li. Li I 1 LOi i I "ill 5 I l-i 5 xiajoiity 1CK MP quits 1- uiuuniit 1 AH S1 By STEPHANIE PEATLING and AAP The craze for short films continued at the weekend as crowds flocked to the last screenings of Flickerfest 2000 at the Bondi Pavilion.

American writer-director Michael Burke won the prize for best film with his anxious story about a young boy growing up, Fishbelly Mliite. The best Australian short was won by Richard Frankland's tale of brothers and mateship, Harry's War. It is the ninth time the event billed as Australia's only competitive international short film festival has been held. Festival director Ms Bronwyn Kidd said the near capacity audiences every night proved Australian's continuing appetite for short films. Like Tropfest which starts in a few weeks Flickerfest will also tour the country starting in Byron Bay on January 25 before heading to Alice Springs, Adelaide, Perth, Melbourne, Darwin and Brisbane.

The best documentary award was won by Iranian writer-director Bahman Ghobadi for Life in Fog, while Australian Cate Shortland picked up the best direction award for FlowergirL The most popular film was J7ie Director, made by Melbourne writer-director Patrick Hughes. Also on Sydney's cultural agenda was the first weekend of the Sydney Festival with Small Poppies, at the Belvoir Street Theatre, proving a hit with audiences keen to see Academy Award-winning actor Geoffrey Rush's return to the stage. The play is sold out until the end of the month. The Open Air Excite Cinema opened at Mrs Maoquaries Chair on Saturday night with the rain holding off long enough for the premiere of Happy, Texas. Organisers are hoping the clouds will continue to stay away for what has become one of Sydney's most popular, yet weather-dependent, summer activities quit has mounted since the Net Bet scandal broke last year.

Mr D'Arcy and two other Labor figures were revealed to have had a financial interest in the company granted Queensland's first Internet gaming licence. Mr Beattie's desire for the millionaire MP to exit public life had been an open secret in ALP circles since before Net Bet. The Opposition Leader, Mr Rob Borbidge, criticised Mr D'Arcy's decision and said Labor politicians were costing taxpayers hundreds of thousands of dollars by triggering mid-term by-elections. Mr Borbidge said Mr Beattie no longer had any right to govern Queensland. "This Government no longer has a mandate," he said.

"It's effectively in caretaker mode and should not be making major decisions or signing any major contracts." Mr Kaiser, 39, rejected claims he wasn't local enough, saying he was born in Woodridge and three generations of his family lived in the area. Ruling out the early State election, Mr Beattie cited a promise he made to Independent MP Mr Peter Wellington at the last election. The Premier denied the Woodridge preselection would lead to a factional brawl, with Mr D'Arcy a member of the Labor Unity faction and Mr Kaiser representing the AWU faction. "The Labor Party is just one big love-in, we never have those sort of fights, we are goodness personified," Mr Beattie said. "All you're seeing is a bit of argy-bargy about who will be the representative." AAP The Opposition in Queensland has called for the State Government to switch to caretaker mode after its one-seat majority was wiped out with the resignation of a second Labor MP.

Mr Bill D'Arcy quit as the member for Woodridge on Saturday, following the Tourism, Sport and Racing Minister, Mr Bob Gibbs, who resigned his seat (Bundamba) for a lucrative overseas government posting. The ALP State secretary, Mr Mike Kaiser, announced yesterday that he was resigning his position to contest preselection for Woodridge and said he had been encouraged by the Premier, Mr Beattie, to do so. Mr Beattie has ruled out an early State election, despite his Government's future hanging on the outcome of by-elections in the two safe Labor seats. The Premier would not name a date for the by-elections, instead confirming that both would be held on the same day in time for the new MPs to be installed before Parliament resumes on February 29. Flanked by his wife, children and electorate secretary, a tearful Mr D'Arcy told journalists a genetic heart condition had forced him to quit mid-term.

"I have received overseas medical advice in the strongest possible terms from my cardiologist that I should retire from public life," he said. Dubbed "The Phantom" for his conspicuous absences from Parliament and his electorate, Mr D'Arcy was famous for being thrown out of Parliament for not wearing a tie and also for missing a crucial vote when Parliament was electing a Speaker. Pressure for the 60-year-old to From Sydney Return From Sydney Return From Sydney Return From Sydney Return Canberra $149 Adelaide $259 Cairns $339 Perth $429 Brisbane $189 Launceston $269 Proserpine $339 Auckland $449 Melbourne $189 Hobart $279 Townsville $349 Christchurch $449 Gold Coast $189 Rockhampton $299 Ayers Rock $389 Wellington $449 Maroochydore $219 Mackay $329 Alice Springs $399 Darwin $469 Millennium rings in its toll 'ti 2 nights 2 nights 2 nights 1327 3 nights 1255 $339 from 1'H Auckland or Christchurch 3 nights 4 nights $574 3 nights 636 Ask about our special child offers. 1479 3 days economy manual car hire Violence Line increased last January to 1,400, up from a monthly average of 1,000. The holiday period was associated with increased contact with families, and financial and other pressures which could trigger domestic violence, said the department's director of child and family services, Ms Carol Peltola.

"Children are at home during January and that can place additional stress on families," she said. "And there's often more alcohol consumed, which can mean more violence. At Christmas, families can go a bit overboard and end up with financial pressures. All of these factors, while they're no excuse for violence, can make it worse." The Salvation Army's Salvo Care Line, which offers crisis counselling, reported increased calls over the holiday period, said co-ordinator Mr Greg Pankhurst "There is an increase in calls from everybody over the Christmas and new year period. About a third are about relationship issues, and many are calls from people who are alone and suicidal," he said.

"It's partly because of the stresses that the festive season brings on, seeing families you haven't seen for a while, or an increased awareness of the fact that you're on your own, or By CHRISTINA HO A week after New Year's Day, people were suffering from "millennium according to a leading psychologist. With the so-called "January post-holiday anxieties resulted in increased rates of divorce, suicide and domestic violence, said US-based social psychologist Dr Debbie Then, author of Women lxo Stay With Men Who Stray. "So many people, on any holiday, get caught up in huge expectations. Especially this year, people spent so much time planning for New Year's Eve, and spent so much money on it Nothing can meet those types of expectations." Now, with the holidays over and life returning to normal, people were left with feelings of disappointment "Instead of trying to make a new beginning with the new year, they get depressed with all the things they didn't achieve, or resolutions they didn't keep," Dr Then said. While most people tried to enjoy the holiday season "hoping things will get January was a time of upheaval.

"That's why more people file for divorce, and why suicide and domestic violence rates increase," she said in Sydney. NSW Department of Community Services figures showed that calls to its 24-hour Domestic Now's the time to make genuine savings with the Qantas Summer Returns Sale, with low return economy airfares and holiday packages to destinations around Australia and New Zealand. There are thousands of seats selling fast so hop to it. Offers must be booked a minimum of 14 days prior to departure and conditions apply. Domestic offers are valid for sale to Jan 17, 2000 and valid for travel to Apr 5, 2000.

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