Strange Name Practical Science

When I met to interview Meow-Ludo Disco Gamma Meow-Meow candidate for the Science Party, in Elizabeth Park recently, I was interested to see what credentials he could possibly have as a candidate for a regional farming community. So even more surprising to me than his name was his scientific background in farming and experience in incorporating innovative technologies in small communities.

Meow spent time on family farms turning soil by hand, building fences, working a Wagu property and riding horses.

At University he studied genetics, then moved into biotechnology and is more broadly a molecular biologist.

He worked on the development of human milk GMO for baby formula, which he describes as like brewing beer and has given expert talks on the threat of agricultural bio-weapons.

He said he is running because he wants to see more technology and innovation based in regional areas to help develop agriculture.

“Tech people get excited about solving problems and there are lots of practical things we can apply to agriculture,” said Meow.

“I think it is about connecting farmers here with tech people in the city and imagining a future together,” he said.

“After speaking with farmers around here they are excited about a few technologies, one is blockchain and the other is animal genetics, essentially using genetics like we use in crops, but for animals.

“Farm technology is not about eroding the wisdom of working for 30 years on a farm it is about making jobs they do easier and more efficient.

“They know exactly when to dump fertiliser on a crop, what they don’t know is the nutritional profile of every square meter of their soil until they get access to robot imaging and that is available now.

“The biggest thing holding farmers back from technology is infrastructure.

“I was in a business where I was trying to contact a farmer in Scone and I couldn’t contact him unless it is outside business hours on a landline, because they don’t have reception on their land so you can’t have technology come in if we don’t give farmers access to proper infrastructure,” he said.

Meow believes regional Australia is an ideal place for tech start-ups for lifestyle, but regional areas need infrastructure such as better train services and technology infrastructure.

“Every tech job creates seven tech jobs as a result and I think that’s the kind of thing you need around this area,

“The lifestyle and sense of community can attract tech people to regional areas, but we need proper rail networks so that they are still accessible to the major cities and NBN to the home

“I have friends who are looking at Armidale because the technology is there and if regional communities welcome them it can happen

“In towns like Scone some of the technologies could start with electronics for farming, there are some really simple problems tech people can solve like giving farmers the ability to pull up their phone and see if a gate is shut, or check the water levels in dams and it can make farming so much easier and more efficient

“Tech people get excited about solving problems like that.

“There were a heap of farmers outside the NBN so they created a business and they were able to create their own network to improve internet connection for all of those farmers.

“There is no reason the GMO human milk baby formula couldn’t be based regionally, where we are already using export channels for agriculture into those markets,” Meow said.

Meow also believes mining can have a bigger vision in the area.

“One interesting thing Canada did was to join the European space agency and they found things they did well, which was robotics and now the whole world’s space robotics is done by Canada.

“We do mining and agriculture really well so we should be looking to use those skills so that everyone who wants to do that in space will come to us and people are building those habitats now.

“It might seem so far off in the future, but it will happen in our lifetime.

“Mines in Western Australia actually face similar issues to Mars, so we have the skills and technology here we can develop for a space program,” said Meow

Meow sees the city-centric model of politics is leaving regional Australia behind and believes thee city-country divide needs to broken down for everyone to succeed.

“I think I am representing a voice of what can the city bring to the country, how technology and science help bring us together as Australians to make a country we are proud of,” Meow said.