Dear Editor,

For the past decade my wife and I have lived alongside farming families on three continents, documenting what happens when outside money arrives, takes the value of the land and labour, then leaves.

We've watched family farms fold and main streets fade to ghost towns.

We came to Australia because our research suggested it's not too late to do things differently here, and because of a number I cannot shake.

A national study published in 2018 found that an Australian farmer takes their own life about once every ten days.

That's the kind of statistic that brought us to towns like this one, to live among the people here, on farms and in the cafes (when they're open), and to share local stories on film.

We formed a team that wrote an Indigenous-led grant for a locally owned hemp processing facility right here in Deni, one of many such projects we've worked on over the years.

When it was passed over in the recent funding round, we weren't surprised. We've seen good local projects lose before.

Let me be plain about my own stake: I was to receive nothing from that grant, not a wage, not a fee, not a share. I wrote it because I'm making a film about this region, and I want it to have a hopeful ending.

So weigh my words accordingly, and check them.

What concerns me is not simply that one project missed out. It's what that decision implies about priorities.

$10 million dollars was awarded to Ausuntech Pty Ltd for a large-scale processing facility at Gundaline Station near Darlington Point.

Member for Murray Helen Dalton has publicly questioned that decision and called for the grant to be reviewed, arguing the funding was intended to support communities affected by water buybacks rather than "corporate welfare for foreign-owned businesses".

I make no claim about that company’s intentions or future performance. The project may yet deliver regional benefits.

But after documenting agricultural development models across multiple countries, I have learned to ask one question first:

Where does the value flow?

The local proposal that was unsuccessful aimed to lease an existing facility, use Australian-made processing equipment from Ashford Hemp Industries, create eight local jobs — including positions intended for Aboriginal workers from the outset — purchase approximately $2.4 million of crop from local farming families across 15-20 farms over three years, operate without ongoing government support after establishment, and require no water allocation.

It also proposed open documentation and research so that other farming communities could learn from the model.

Meanwhile, Riverina farmers have roughly 1500 tonnes of hemp they've already grown, rotting in bales with nowhere close enough to process it.

One project was designed to keep the jobs, the skills and the control in local hands, yet another got $10 million dollars of taxpayer funding.

Whether the funded project delivers the same for this district is a question worth asking out loud.

This is not an argument against investment or growth. Regional Australia needs both.

We came halfway around the world because we believe rural towns like Deniliquin still have time to write a different story.

If public money is meant to strengthen regional communities, then transparency matters — not only about outcomes, but about the principles used to decide what gets backed.

I'm calling for two things: transparency on how this round was decided, and a commitment that future rounds will favour projects that keep the benefit, the work and the ownership in the communities doing the growing.

With that transparency, Deniliquin and similar towns have the best chance of keeping more of the value they produce.

I still believe in happy endings.

Yours etc.

Darryl J Nicke II

Deniliquin

• Anyone requiring crisis support can contact Accessline on 1800 800 944, Lifeline Australia on 13 11 14, BeyondBlue on 1300 224 636 or Kids Helpline on 1800 551 800. Resources and pathways to help are also available at www.denimentalhealth.org.au.

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Friday, 28th November 2031

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