CAN Australia be the food bowl of Asia?
It's a realistic blue sky proposition which promotes macro-economic vision.
But it is based on an assumption that this nation has a strong rural population capable of achieving the vision.
From a government's perspective, it's talk the talk.
But the real question is: Who walks the talk?
It's a question that worries Dalwallinu shire president and long-time Kalannie farmer Robert Nixon.
He is a self-confessed big picture man and he is all about walking the talk.
It's just a matter of identifying the "walkers".
"I believe agriculture has an excellent future," he said. "But many people my age are asking who is going to be involved in that future."
Robert considers himself lucky, as a semi-retired farmer and now full-time shire president, his children will carry on the family farm.
But he is acutely aware of the need to encourage the next generation of farmers to stick around.
And one incentive is a strong community.
Talk won't do it, which is why two years ago, the Dalwallinu Shire Council established a Regional Repopulation Pilot Project.
It was initiated to enable community members to have input into a project aimed to increase the shire's population and workforce and use under-used resources and infrastructure.
The drivers were members of the project advisory committee, shire administration and councillors and connections were made to several State and Federal Government departments.
The initial aim was simply to re-populate the district through the secondary placement of humanitarian refugees.
But skilled labour shortages provided a more concentrated focus as local businesses took direct action to recruit skilled labour through 457 visa pathways.
Within 12 months, 57 new residents had been identified throughout the shire and by October this year that number had increased to 143.
Significantly, school enrolments increased by 35 in Dalwallinu and Kalannie.
Skilled labour also has seen exponential growth in Dalwallinu's industrial area, which boasts four major manufacturers, one of which is the shire's largest employee. The town also has two machinery dealers.
In another initiative, a shire-appointed community support and liaison officer, who is also a qualified English Second Language teacher oversees weekly English classes for new residents who hail from non English-speaking countries such as Asia, Eastern Europe and Africa.
There is a focus on friendly assimilation of new residents to build community rapport and trust and assist with the quirks of bush English.
"Our approach is to help people understand who we are and how we can help them," Robert said.
"When education fees for children of 457 visas holders were to be introduced the community galvanized by lobbying to have the fees removed. They succeeded in having them postponed until 2015, but are continuing in their efforts to have the fees permanently removed because these new residents are paying full taxation rates while unable to access health and medical benefits, transport and other services that taxpayers enjoy in the metropolitan area."
"Our goal is to promote permanent residency for all new residents who work in the shire, because we're trying to keep smaller communities alive.
"That leads to maximising existing infrastructure and increasing potential for further capital works."
Unashamedly Robert's vision for the Dalwallinu shire would see Wubin develop as a year-round road train service town, Kalannie being the home town for some workers for the Mt Gibson mining operation and the establishment of hamlet-type communities every 50 to 100km within the shire to underpin population growth and encourage a "buy local" policy.
An example would be nearby Pithara, where people could commute to Dalwallinu to work while expanding Pithara as a residential community with appropriate facilities to cater for the population.
A similar vision exists north of Wubin at Buntine, which can claim to have started the re-population debate in the shire through local farmer Stuart McAlpine.
Re-population of the bush is almost indisputably the solution to winning back agriculture's voting franchise.
But it will take more than a migrant program.
Robert agrees and suggests a government-indexed tax zone rebate to attract people from major regional hubs and Perth.
"But I'm confident that the plans being set in place throughout the shire will be actions that bear fruit.
"We have a five to 10 year plan and we've got plenty of land to expand our residential and industrial areas.
"The almost perpetual challenge is to attract young people to maintain our agricultural industry."
