Harvesting fruit and vegetables 'in the middle of nowhere': The Pacific Islander farm workers scheme

"With about 30,000 PALM workers in Australia as of October, that equates to about 30 deaths per 100,000 people — more than six times the national average of 4.8 per 100,000."

"Back home, I usually drive for no more than 30 minutes before reaching my destination. Here, I'd drive for hours... after working 12-hour shifts." >>
https://www.abc.net.au/pacific/palm-workers-urged-to-obey-australian-driving-laws-/104730954

"Two Pacific Islander farm workers dead" >>
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2026-05-06/manjimup-fatal-crash-pacific-farm-workers/106636166
#PALM #workers #food #farms #work #AgriculturalIndustry #SettlerSociety #roads #TyrannyOfDistance #transport #rural #cars #Australia #exploitation #plantations #MobilityDesign #WideOpenSpaces #FossilFuel #FoodMiles
Image: The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck, 1939

Suburban sprawl and public transport deserts

"From the 1950s, sprawling low-density suburbs have been built on the assumption that households would own cars and that public transport was unnecessary."

“It’s really too late to do much in the short term, because we’ve spent 70 years planning in the other direction...The hole has been dug.”

“If we’re interested in equity and justice in our cities, then we need to be providing people, no matter where they live, with a good quality level of public transport access that allows them to get jobs, services and education that are available to people in inner-city areas." >>
https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2026/apr/10/fuel-crisis-australia-public-transport-not-an-option
#FossilFuel #petrol #CarDependency #Suburbia #sprawl #biodiversity #extinction #PublicTransportDeserts #MobilityDesign #inequality #war #ClimateDisruption #CarMinds #malls #parking #obesity #walking #infrastructure #SmallShops #TyrannyOfDistance

What happens in a fuel crisis if public transport isn’t a real option? ‘It’s pushing people to tipping point’

‘The kids are missing out’: when fuel is expensive and public transport hard to access

The Guardian
"Australia has committed over A$450 million to support undersea cable connectivity across the Pacific and Timor-Leste, including the Coral Sea Cable between Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands and Australia" Cable not wireless #tyrannyofdistance www.abc.net.au/news/2025-12...

Google to build Australian-fun...
Google to build undersea cables in Papua New Guinea under Australia defence treaty

PNG says the measure will provide a key upgrade to its digital backbone and link the north and south of the nation with high-capacity cables.

ABC News