View from the Paddock: Kylie Stretton on why our leaders need to work with Mother Nature

Some of Queensland is sodden and drowning. Some is looking down the barrel of a failed dry season or another subsequent year of drought. I was going to say, "thankfully we haven't been smashed by a category four or five cyclone", but I'll zip my lips in case I jinx us. There are still a few weeks of cyclone season left...

I'm sure some out there in Goldilocks land had a season that is just right, many of you thinking "at last".

I always used to get a bit optimistic at times like this and hope that our elected officials step up and lead, not just amid the crisis, but beyond into the many years of recovery, all the while preparing for the inevitable next disaster.

But again, we are seeing a blanket "one size fits all" approach, with on the ground people with hands-on experience being blithely ignored and disregarded.

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We see devastated communities being used as political pawns while the war on words wages across already crammed airwaves, sending mixed messages and blocking the flow of accurate information.

There's a time and place for rousing debate, but not in the middle of a crisis. Call out poor leadership for sure, but be mindful you're not causing more confusion.

But this time around, I'm a bit more world-weary, I guess.

So often now, we see "unprecedented" disasters, but we as a species don't seem to learn. We don't prepare as well for the events that can be prepared for as we should.

New housing estates still pop up on flood plains. The landscape is totally changed to suit Euro-Centric farming practices, so out of place in this part of the world.

Our population (especially many leaders) is getting more and more removed from nature and has lost the ability to read so many obvious signs of impending disaster.

I'm by no means chucking off the people that are affected; my heart truly goes out to you as you're bear the total brunt of this devastation.

But suppose our disasters continue to grow to "unprecedented" magnitudes. In that case, the impact is doubled by the human races' belief that we can outwit nature.

She will run us down every time unless we start treating her with the respect she deserves. And with humans doing the best they can to bring each other down, we need her on our side.

- Kylie Stretton, Charters Towers beef producer.

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