What is less well known is that farmers are far more likely to die at work than workers in any other industry.

Despite agriculture employing less than three per cent of Victorian workers, 28 per cent of all workplace deaths in the past five years have been on farms.

But it doesn’t have to be this way. A farm is like any other workplace, and farmers have the power to change this story.

Effective planning, using the right equipment, operating machinery safely; these are simple, everyday measures that can save lives. 

Yet, it is more experienced farmers who are over-represented in farming deaths each year. Because the great enemy of experience is complacency.

And, when it comes to farm safety, complacency can kill. Machinery, essential to every farm, must be well maintained and used for the right purpose. Quad bikes need to be operated within their limits.

Children and visitors, who are also dying on Victoria’s farms, need to be kept away from work areas. 

WorkSafe runs farm safety educational campaigns, attends field days, and conducts on-farm inspections.

But the power to reduce the death toll on Victorian farms lies with farmers themselves.  Their families, their employees, and their very lives depend on it.

Debt and deficit disaster, age of entitlement is over, increase doctors out of pocket expenses, install petrol excise, soften up States for increase in GST, and ATO owed $35 billion in tax receipts not collected. 

No action on negative gearing, or excessive superannuation rebates, mining rebates. Or the Speakers expense account.

Australians are entitled to ask, just whose entitlement is over.

From July 1st 2014, until December 30th 2014, Speaker Bronwyn Bishop spent $398,563 swanning around the world at the taxpayers expense.

But on the 13th June 2006, Ms Bishop had this to say.

'When you are spending other people's money, money that someone else has raised, and for which you are not accountable, you become profligate'.

Is it any wonder since these people have come to Government that the place has totally hit the skids.

Is it any wonder politicians are despised by the voting public, when they bring down budgets such as 2014. Do they think, that the voting public do not think that at the first opportunity they will try it on again.

Politics has become not a little untrustworthy, but totally untrustworthy. No wonder the place is in the doldrums.

It is sad that Robin Nally (30 June) feels such hostility to same sex marriage. Surely anything that encourages people to form stable, loving relationships must be good for us all?

Ulumbarra - lessons not learned or just the chooks coming home to roost?

There is always someone else to blame, it seems, when the education department  spokesperson claims that “ the department is unable to pay sub-contractors directly as it would be a contravention of its contractual obligations”.

Where are the obligations of the main contractor, council, education department and state government in this debacle? Where is the consideration - the agreement to pay?

Is that a breach of the original agreement ?

Have our local members of parliament and council contacted the Premier as a matter of urgency?

The statement that “Compliance Certificates have not been fulfilled on several aspects of the job, making it unsafe for use” is a matter for Worksafe Victoria and the education department, and we citizens who have attended the theatre, and should be fully explained.