Questions to be answered for the benefit of future generations

Of course, in addition to restoring the health of landscapes and soils and people by addressing the questions of food production and natural resource management, there are other important questions that we need to answer for the benefit to future generations.

How to establish and maintain an economy that is stable without growth and trades goods and services made from renewable materials, using renewable energy?

It is clear that Earth’s finite resources will not support endless growth of population and consumption. We don’t have a means of ending our addiction to growth - continual growth is currently necessary for economic stability, to protect our wealth and fund the government services we rely on. In this context, we have no means of ending our addiction to consumption - we just love new things, we are encouraged to buy new things and most of our new things are made of non-renewable resources using non-renewable energy. But leaders like Dick Smith are taking the initiative to help us to answer these questions and provide leadership. Through The Wilberforce Award, Dick will award $1M to “the most outstanding individual in not only making a significant contribution to this important issue, but who also becomes famous through his or her contribution to the debate”.

For more information and resources about this initiative, Click here

What can be done to restore rural towns to their previously vibrant state?

Consider this story. “When my friend Andrea was growing up on her family farm in the 70’s, the farm supported four families, the town supported 3 Rugby teams and there were 56 kids on the school bus. Now, in the 2010’s, the farm needs off-farm income to support one family, four towns contribute players to field a single Rugby team and the 3 kids go to school in another town, in a sedan.” This story is repeated all over Australia and around the world.