Four Corners

S2018 E34 Proud Country

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Proud Country: A portrait of a community surviving the drought.

"You may be on a bed of roses today, but the thorns always prick. So you just got to pull yourself together. Everyone pull together." Country Women's Association Branch Secretary

On Monday night, Four Corners brings you a story from the heart of the drought, a portrait of the land and its people, where the lack of rain is biting hard.

"I'd be joking to say that it's not tiring and I'm bit too old for this sort of stuff, but anyway, that's how it is." Farmer

It's pushing some to breaking point, but many in this proud country community are doing all they can to give others the strength to carry on.

"Yesterday was very emotional. A little old lady rings me up and she said to me ‘I'm 92 I'm going to give you $2000' and I thought ‘oh my godfather!'" Country Women's Association Branch Secretary

The people of Quirindi live and work on rich black soil country that they like to boast is the best in the land. Except when it hasn't rained properly for more than a year.

"I can remember looking at the cows and thinking, ‘Bloody hell, what are we going to do?'" Farmer

They opened their homes and their lives to reporter Michael Brissenden. Along the way, he encountered characters so large, they could have walked from the pages of Banjo Paterson story.

"Drought has no respect for a person, whether you're rich or poor." Country Women's Association Branch Secretary

From the thriving hub of the Country Women's Association, to an unexpected local victory on the dusty rugby field, he found people trying to find a sense of purpose and some joy under the relentless sun.

"It's a tough time at the moment so it's just good for the town to have something to rally around." Captain of the Quirindi Lions

Some are finding practical ways to make life that little more bearable with the donation of a haircut or a new pair of jeans.

"If we can make a few people feel a little bit better about themselves and know that there are people out there that care, I think that's just some small little gesture that we can do." Hairdresser

Despite their best efforts, you can sense the quiet desperation sitting just below the surface.

"Every week it's getting worse. You wouldn't think it could get worse, but it is. It's just got that real bad feel about it." Grain supplier

The parched landscape, exquisitely captured by Four Corners' cameras, reveals the profound impact this drought has had. And with winter slipping away, there are fears for what summer may bring.

"We're going into the hottest time of the year… the days are hotter, people haven't got water and there's no feed. So, time will tell." Contractor

Proud Country, reported by Michael Brissenden and presented by Sarah Ferguson.

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2018/09/24 S2018 E33

Who Cares? (Part 2 of 2)

Part Two of the Four Corners special investigation into the failings in aged care.

On Monday Four Corners will detail shocking cases of abuse and premature deaths in our nursing homes.

"If this was happening to our children, we would be in there and we would be fixing it and solving it." Son, NSW

"You could see the hand bruising from her being picked up." Son, WA

"Mum had bruises on her wrists and black eyes, and whenever I said something to the staff, they said she had had a fall." Son, NSW

In part two of this Four Corners investigation, the program will reveal the abject failure of government regulation to protect the elderly.

"Her comment was, 'Will an apology do?' And I said, 'No, an apology will not do. You have to do your job, and you have to find out what happened, and make sure that this doesn't happen again.'" Daughter, NSW

Carers and families from across the country have come forward to tell their stories and demand change.

"I believe there are a lot of incidents like this that we don't know about. Families do not have a way of finding out the truth. He was a loving man, he cared for his family, he worked hard all his life. And he didn't deserve this ending." Daughter, NSW

Facing concerted efforts to cover up abuse and mistreatment, families are taking matters into their own hands to hold nursing homes to account.

"I wanted to know what really happened...The fact is that the right things hadn't been done, were not done for him, at his hour of need. And, these were merely just total lies." Daughter, NSW

Some families have resorted to installing hidden cameras to capture evidence.

"To make life easy, why don't we just put a camera in? You know, a little camera, clock camera? And we'll just see what's happening." Son, WA

They say that for too long the industry has been able to avoid rigorous public scrutiny.

"You can sit on the internet and book yourself a hotel, or a car, or a flight, and you can compare very easily, but in aged care it's not so easy." Former assessor

As this program will clearly show, there is much more to be done if our vulnerable elderly Australians are to be given the care and protection they deserve.

"To simply say that staff members have been educated and this won't happen again, doesn't give the family of the deceased any comfort at all, because it shouldn't have happened in the first place." Former assessor

Who Cares? reported by Anne Connolly and presented by Sarah Ferguson.

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