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While politicians and parents fret about the growing use of illegal drugs in Australian cities, the problem has surfaced in an unlikely quarter: the shearing shed.
A shearing contractor in Western Australia is so concerned about his men handling their fleecy charges while under the influence that he has introduced random drug tests.
Brendan Boyle, based in the small town of Broomehill, believes that 40 per cent of his shearers used to smoke joints before coming to work.
Others took speed to stay alert. And he was particularly concerned about the use of crystal meth, or "ice", a highly addictive drug usually associated with nightclubbers.
"The people that are on this stuff - they become completely complacent to everybody else in the shed," Mr Boyle said. "So they waste away, they lose weight, they don't eat, they've got no social skills. They've got no motivation. It's a terrible, terrible thing."
Since he introduced the random drug tests, thought to be the first in the industry, he has seen a transformation. His 20 workers - who are required to provide a saliva swab for testing every six to eight weeks - are healthier, more sociable and more productive.
They no longer take recreational drugs even at weekends, he believes. The Australian shearer, celebrated in poems, ballads and paintings, is an enduring rural icon. But the reality of the job is back-breaking work, low wages and a mind-numbing routine.
Drug use is believed to be on the increase in shearing sheds generally, and Mr Boyle's scheme has the blessing of the West Australian Shearing Contractors Association.
- INDEPENDENT
