{"id":9986,"date":"2026-05-04T03:50:53","date_gmt":"2026-05-03T17:50:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/bardonnews.com.au\/index.php\/2026\/05\/04\/the-may-3-show\/"},"modified":"2026-05-04T14:09:52","modified_gmt":"2026-05-04T04:09:52","slug":"the-may-3-show","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/bardonnews.com.au\/index.php\/2026\/05\/04\/the-may-3-show\/","title":{"rendered":"The May 3 Show"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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A Country Talking \u2014 If You Know Where to Listen<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

You don\u2019t really follow these mornings. You drift through them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

One call rolls into the next \u2014 a bit of weather, a bit of work, something remembered, something noticed \u2014 and before long you\u2019ve got a clearer read on the country than anything packaged neatly could give you.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This week, it kept circling the same idea.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

People are still moving. Still working.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But something\u2019s shifted.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A Soft Start in Borroloola<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Samuel\u2019s voice came in low and steady out of Borroloola<\/strong>, like the day hadn\u2019t quite fully started yet.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cBit foggy this morning\u2026 sort of dewy.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The moon was just going down, and there was a fishing competition building at King Ash Bay<\/strong> \u2014 prizes, weigh-ins later, the usual rhythm of a weekend up there.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Macca asked about the crowd.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Samuel didn\u2019t rush the answer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cYeah\u2026 a few visitors.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Then, after a beat, he added what mattered.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cNot as many as we expected.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Fuel, he reckoned. Enough to slow people down.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He didn\u2019t push it any further. Just left it there.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Shearing, Travel and the Cost of It<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Dave\u2019s call had movement in it \u2014 packing up, heading home, already thinking about the next job.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He\u2019d been shearing around Cootamundra<\/strong>, on his way back to Deniliquin<\/strong> after a solid run.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Macca wandered into the old shearer stories \u2014 bikes, rough travel, making do.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dave gave a quick nod to that.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThey done it tough those days.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But then brought it back to now.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cYou just got to travel to get it these days.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The work\u2019s still there. It\u2019s everything around it that\u2019s changed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt\u2019s not cheap on the road\u2026 you\u2019re paying more for everything.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

No drama in it. Just how it is.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When the Desert Comes Alive<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Chris came in over a bit of noise \u2014 wind, engines, other voices.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He was out in basin country with a crew, heading into another long day.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Macca asked what it looked like out there.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Chris didn\u2019t talk about the job.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe environment\u2019s gone crazy.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

They\u2019d had rain. Proper rain.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What had been dry weeks earlier was suddenly alive \u2014 birds, butterflies, rabbits, everything moving.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He kept listing things, almost like he couldn\u2019t keep up with it himself.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

You could hear it happening around him as he spoke.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Working the Same Ground<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Phil\u2019s call sat quieter, but it carried something.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He\u2019s working near Batlow<\/strong> and Tumut<\/strong> now, building out transmission lines \u2014 pushing access into farmland, working around conditions, taking it as it comes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But when Macca asked, he reached back.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Last time he called in was 2020.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Fires.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He was on dozers then, cutting firebreaks through that same country.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Different job now. Slower work.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But the same ground.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Long Way for a Simple Fix<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Dean\u2019s call had that steady, long-distance feel to it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He\u2019d come down from Darwin chasing a gooseneck trailer so the family could get to rodeos without taking two vehicles.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Macca asked how far they travel.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dean didn\u2019t hesitate.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe\u2019ll go 1,000 kilometres for a rodeo\u2026 1,400\u2019s not unusual.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That wasn\u2019t the point though.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The point was the road.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe road\u2019s very quiet\u2026 quieter than I\u2019ve ever seen it.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He\u2019d been doing that trip for years.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He knew what it usually felt like.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

You Feel It From the Driver\u2019s Seat<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Matty backed it up straight away.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Heading out of Melbourne towards Dubbo, empty truck, steady run.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt\u2019s been quiet\u2026 very quiet.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Macca pushed him a bit.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Just today?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cNo\u2026 it\u2019s been quiet.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Then he drifted north \u2014 New England, west of Dubbo \u2014 talking about how dry it is through there.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

You could feel how those things sit together for him.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When It Stops Adding Up<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Steve and Maria in Tolga<\/strong> spoke like people who\u2019d already made peace with a decision.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Macca brought up their rose business.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

They laughed a little.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

No, not anymore.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cTrying to compete\u2026 it just got too hard.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

They talked through it \u2014 fertilisers, labour, imports \u2014 but it wasn\u2019t one thing. It was all of it, building over time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

They loved it. That part was clear.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But loving it wasn\u2019t enough to keep it going.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Things You Don\u2019t Notice<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Rick\u2019s call in Townsville<\/strong> came through a bit scratchy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He runs a window and door business.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Macca had been talking about glass earlier, so Rick jumped in.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cYou just can\u2019t get a hold of it anymore.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Started with coloured glass. Now even the basics are getting harder.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Macca pressed him on it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What does that actually mean?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Rick explained it in practical terms \u2014 people want repairs done properly, like-for-like.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But the materials just aren\u2019t there.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And underneath it all was the part that didn\u2019t quite make sense.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The raw material is here.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The finished product isn\u2019t.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Build Your Own Solution<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Doug had already had a morning before he even called.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Driving back from Karumba<\/strong>, a few pigs ran out in front of him.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He took care of them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Macca picked up on that, but Doug didn\u2019t stay there.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He\u2019s an electrician.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Used to run a motel.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Got fed up with rising power costs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cSo I built one,\u201d he said, describing what he now runs as a local power operation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

From there, Doug just talked it through \u2014 how it started, how it grew, what he supplies now.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He didn\u2019t sell it. Didn\u2019t dress it up.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Just told it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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A post shared by Scott Barrett MLC (@scott.barrett.mlc)<\/a><\/p><\/div><\/blockquote>\n