The Australian Veterinary Association made a startling observation this week in the story "Getting vets back to the bush" (see p5), where it stated: "There is some evidence in other countries that desertification of vets from rural settings is an early indicator of impending agricultural sector collapse."
But what's causing that? There is an argument that says there's a lack of both good policy and nation-building knack and this is reflected in the way our major parties buy votes, rather than earn them.
Why vets are a canary, who knows? But until the past two years, rural to city migration was continuing its decades-long suck of people and talent.
COVID has helped steady that, as has improved seasons and commodity prices. But we won't have COVID and rain every year, and, despite all the tree-changers, many business still can't attract staff. The vet shortage is a microcosm of the broader ag sector that overlaps on a lot of issues, including relocation, cost of living, cost of training, wages, lack of government investment, etc.
At its root is an absence of government policy. If you can attract and retain vets, you're probably doing better than the average country town in attracting people into other professions too.
One thing the government could do, which would help all these communities, is to tackle capital gains tax on investment housing. Traditionally, the solution for housing shortages has been to build more houses. But Australia's population growth has stagnated, so what's going on? Do we really need heaps more houses, or is there a surplus tied up by investors hoping prices will keep rising? This is dead money.
Increased capital gains tax might encourage investors to look elsewhere - like agriculture, manufacturing, or energy. These all need more capital, and new money is otherwise dominated by foreign investment, taking profits offshore.
A shift in policy around that one lever, and the government could make housing more affordable while encouraging funds into more productive industries.
As interest rates rise, we may see this happen a little bit anyway, but with no change in policy, the cause remains unaddressed. Meantime, had that capital been tipped into agriculture, imagine how that could continue to drive the economy through what are potentially more challenging times ahead - and the taxpayer would be paid back many times over.
