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=Drought in Australia=

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TASK 4 Australia was affected in many different ways:

Political--> The politicians had to pay fines to the farmers so they could keep their farms and family buisnesses. The drought scartched on australias infra srtucture, and the export of goods and other things were stopped because they had to keep it to have enough for their own people.

Social-->Many people left the country sides and moved into the big cities, because there were no jobs on farms on the inside of the country. Farmers had to give up their farms and had to move into the city to earn money because the farm is worthless.

Economic--> Like outlined above, there was not much of export. But due to the drought there was not enough food that farmers could provide for all the people, that means they needed to inport goods. This was expensive but necessary.

Environmental--> The soil all over the country got unfertile and no plants grew. This also meant that the animals had a hard time to search for water and for food. But not only the soil dryed out, but complete lakes and rivers were gone after the big drought. The deserts in australia widend due to desertificaion.

[|Drought of Australia]

Australia Prime Minister John Howard and then Kevin Rudd faced the extreme challenge of managing the ongoing drought throughout Australia. The management before, during and after have proven difficult and many areas (even coastal) with water shortages affecting the entire continent. Before the event advertisement was greatly used to promote the saving of water. This was done in co-operation with the threat of water restrictions and the cut down of water supplies used to irrigation. The government also attempted to build more water services such as dams in areas where it was needed most to store the water; in hopes that there will be enough for the population (this caused many protests). Recycling and desalination plants became a popular idea with many being built throughout the country (for example the Gold Coast, QLD). The promotion of these idea caused major conflict as many were against the constructions of dams and plants. During the hazard event many water restrictions were set in place and carefully monitored, if not abided by the household was subject to heavy fines. Farmer’s water for irrigation was greatly cut down as the country could not afford to lose so much water to farming; this resulted in the inflation of fruit and vegetable prices. During the droughts Victoria also faced tremendous bush fires, bring the peak of the drought in Australia. Water Restriction tables for each state - [] The 2011 floods saw the Drought come to an end as Summerset Dam overflowed. The water from this flood has now been allocated to each state in hopes of supporting them and to reboost farming and ultimately the economy. The management of water still remains crucial as the risk of drought is still extremely high. [|aus gov rainfall map]This drought was predicted by monitoring the decreasing rainfall in most areas of Australia, which can be seen in the map. The Australian government carefully kept the water levels of the major dams in site and the decreasing rainfall levels. To plan and prepares, as mentioned above, restrictions were set in place, irrigation supplies were cut down and water was carefully conserved, but unfortunately this did not stop Australian from facing one of its worst droughts, in history. Warnings of this major drought came through all forms of media and political presentations as stress was placed on seriousness of the situation, using numerous figures and predictions. Action plans and forecasts were also releases as the government tried to keep the situation under control. Centrelink as well as the Australian government deliver a mix of payments and services for drought-affected communities, farmers, small businesses, farm hands and irrigators. Assistance provided includes income support payments for farmers and small businesses, advice and training grants and assistance to exit farming, and direct assistance for farm hands and irrigators. These measures also help with social pressures facing families across rural and regional Australia. Social, [|rural services] and [|Financial Information Service]officers are trained to ensure that if you live in a drought affected region you get the entitlements, services and support you need. The [|Australian Government Mobile Offices] visit rural communities to let you know about services available from the Australian Government.
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