New England Online > History of New England > The Winds of Change
Winds of Change
Attention: This is an incomplete entry. Please note that it may be subject to change at any time.
The Winds of Change swept through New England over the thirty years after the failure of the statehood referendum. The great leadership of Bruxner, Page and Drummond was not replaced, and their hopes were not realised. Instead of pursuing the dream of a new state, the region suffered blow after blow as economic cutbacks hit. Instead of great leadership, New England was neglected by a clique of Sydney elites who cared little for the troubles of country New South Wales.
By 1995, the damage was well and truly done. Services began to dwindle, and the population began to move away to Sydney and Brisbane in search of work and a new life. As the age of greed gripped the metropolitan areas of Australia, the regions went backwards, with economic collapse and the worst droughts in recorded history. Denied an opportunity to remain in the towns of their youth, a generation was cut off from the community and became disconnected. The sense of the community quickly fell apart as services failed.
Oil Shock
After the failure of the new state referenda, the supporters of a new state tried to resurrect the movement. New boundaries were drawn up, but after the failure of the first vote, the government would not bow and hold a second vote. Fearing the loss of a large part of the constituency base, the conservative government of Robert Askin could not commit to an action that would deny him government after so many years in opposition.
In any event, the movement was truly buried by the economic ructions of the 1970s. On the 17 October 1973, the members of Organization of Arab Petroleum Exporting Countries announced, as a result of the ongoing Yom Kippur War, that they would no longer ship petroleum to nations that had supported Israel in its conflict with Syria and Egypt. Along with an OPEC decision to force the quadrupling of world oil prices, the West suffered from a major oil shortage, which led to dramatic inflation and the suppression of economic activity.
The combination of the above, along with very low cattle prices in the early 1970s had a dramatic effect on the economic wellbeing of New England. Coupled with a periods alternating between crippling droughts and record floods, many people suffered economic ruin. Under the conservative government of the late 1970s and early 1980s, interest rates rose to record levels, putting pressure on farmers and small businessmen.
Rationalisation
The misery of the 1970s prompted governments everywhere to abandon the economic policies that had been in place since the end of the Second World War. Government expenditure was cut and economic regulation was abolished in an effort to liberalise the economy. With the abolition of agricultural subsidies, New England's farmers were now own their own. Commodity prices fluctuations, and the issues like the wool stockpile, accumulated due to the collapse of the Reserve Price Scheme at the start of the 1990's, added further woe.
But the worst blow of all came in 1988 when the railways of New South Wales were rationalised by the incoming Liberal/National Government of Nick Greiner. Services to Tenterfield were the first to go, and by 1993 there were no services to the tablelands at all. The last remaining line along the north coast was all that remained until an election promise restored services to Armidale.
Playgrounds of the Privledged
Drought Stricken
| Timeline of New England History | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by: Proudly Australian |
Winds of Change 1970 - 2002 |
Succeeded by: Shadows of Dissent |
| History of New England | ||
| Timeline: Pre-History · Colonial Times · Proudly Australian · Winds of Change · Shadows of Dissent · Civil War Transitional Government · New Found Nation · Toil and Trouble · Five Day War · Engagement To Europe · Recent Times |
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| Topics: Military · New State Movement | ||
