We have no bananas

Great. So because of the terrible events caused by the cyclone Yasi we're told the Far North Queensland banana crop has been destroyed. As a result since February this year bananas have cost us somewhere between $15-$17 a kilo. If that doesn’t mean anything to you – here’s a cost comparison

Coles (Australia) $17 per kilo
Tesco (UK) $1.38 per kilo (87p)
Walmart (US) 49c per kilo (48USc)

Basically it’s because Australia has a protectionist policy (masquerading as quarantine rules) preventing bananas being brought in from outside of the country and, because the crop has been wrecked, the consumers pay (30 times more than the US).

I’m sure it’s no coincidence that mad Bob Katter, who was an instrumental independent MP who now carries a lot of weight due to Australia’s precarious coalition government, has long supported Australian protectionism on bananas, beef, wheat in fact pretty much everything else. Fortunately he sided with the opposition, but there must be a case for both parities keeping him onside.

Fiji has the ability to build a banana industry able to supply both Australia and New Zealand (which it used to do), or conversely why not ship in bananas from the Windward Islands and support the Commonwealth? The kids love bananas, but at this rate they're going to be have to get jobs before we can afford to buy them any..

* I once spent several months working for JP Bananas in Perry Barr, Birmingham (and on a Thursday you were allowed to take home as many bananas as you could carry) - ah happy days!