Opinion Articles

How to jump-start the next generation of ag technicians

If you want a competent technician who can diagnose a John Deere header that has ground to a stop, fault-find a CAN-bus issue on a Case tractor, or re-loom the electrics on a Claas baler, the Australian training system offers you exactly one answer: a four-year apprenticeship. It does not matter how capable the kid is. It does not matter if they grew up rebuilding engines in the shed. It does not matter if they

Trevor Whittington January 1, 2026

Opinion Articles

How the Housing Boom Broke the Lucky Country

Like every parent watching their adult kids edge toward the real estate market, I look at the numbers with growing alarm. In 25 years, Perth house prices have jumped from roughly $200,000 to close to $900,000 — a three-to-fivefold increase — while wages have barely doubled from $50,000 to $100,000. That’s not a generational squeeze; it’s a structural impossibility. Unless the next generation marries a doctor, a diesel mechanic, a FIFO worker, wins Lotto, or

Trevor Whittington December 11, 2025