It’s almost as though Australia is beginning to mirror the USA in things other than culture. It seems, like southeastern USA, we now have a windstorm season. Two cyclones have hit the tropical northeastern corner of our continent over the past month. Two very big cylcones.

Although devastating for small, local rural communities the insurance impact to date has not been great. No real surprise, as this part of Australia has more bananas than people. Or rather it did have.

Cyclone Larry destroyed most of Australia’s banana crop, but the problem was that the AUS$340 million+ crop damage in north Queensland is not actually covered by insurance. There have been noises over the years about the need for crop insurance, but not a lot of will on the part of government or the growers to really make it happen.

I wonder though about the famous comment by the former Prime Minister Paul Keating, that Australia could become a banana republic. Now that the continent is almost entirely devoid of bananas has this risk been removed? Almost ...........a republic without bananas?

This Feature item appeared in issue 106 of JTW News - June 2006

Author: Colin Russell - Cobalt Solutions