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ABC
Television
7.30
Report
-
10
July
2007
ALI
MOORE:
At
an
age
when
many
are
looking
forward
to
retirement,
54-year-old
Steve
Posselt
has
embarked
on
a
gruelling
physical
challenge
that's
not
for
the
faint-hearted.
This
keen
kayaker
is
one
month
into
a
seven-month
epic
journey
from
Brisbane
to
Adelaide,
via
the
length
of
the
Murray-Darling
river
system.
But
this
isn't
just
the
ultimate
"boys
own"
adventure
-
Steve
Posselt
wants
to
use
his
quest
to
spread
the
word
about
climate
change.
Genevieve
Hussey
reports.
GENEVIEVE
HUSSEY:
At
54,
civil
engineer
Steve
Posselt
is
in
the
middle
of
the
adventure
of
a
lifetime,
a
seven-month
epic
journey
from
Brisbane
to
Adelaide
by
kayak
via
the
inland
river
system
that
feeds
the
Murray-Darling
Basin.
STEVE
POSSELT:
One
day
I
thought
that
I'd
like
to
do
a
longer
trip,
something
that
somebody
had
never
done.
I
love
being
out
here.
GENEVIEVE
HUSSEY:
But
this
is
a
journey
that
almost
didn't
happen.
Twelve
months
ago,
Steve
Posselt
was
in
hospital
fighting
for
his
life
after
a
motorcycle
accident
in
central
Australia.
STEVE
POSSELT:
I
came
off
at
100
kilometres
an
hour,
landed
on
my
head
and
my
shoulder...
I
had
every
rib
smashed
down
the
right
side.
GENEVIEVE
HUSSEY:
He
thought
his
kayaking
days
were
over,
but
after
an
intensive
course
of
physiotherapy,
Steve
Posselt
got
back
on
the
water,
determined
to
do
something
important
to
make
the
world
a
better
place.
He
decided
to
use
his
kayak
journey
to
warn
Australians
we
need
to
do
more
to
try
to
curb
climate
change.
STEVE
POSSELT:
Climate
change
is
just
one
of
the
things
that's
going
to
bite
us.
We
talk
about
how
everything's
connected
-
the
water,
the
land,
the
coal,
the
whole
global
warming
issue,
and
the
fact
that
we
can't
live
sustainably.
GENEVIEVE
HUSSEY:
One
month
into
his
odyssey,
Steve
Posselt
has
ironically
spent
more
time
on
the
road
than
in
the
river.
With
much
of
the
river
system
in
Queensland
still
in
the
grip
of
drought,
when
the
water
dries
up,
Steve
Posselt
pulls
his
specially
modified
kayak
with
wheels
and
a
harness.
He'll
probably
walk
at
least
half
the
6,000
kilometres.
BRUCE
LUMB,
KAYAK
4
EARTH:
He's
a
very
passionate
man.
Steve's
had
to
really
slog
through
some
difficult
areas
on
the
river.
He's
had
log
jams
to
get
through,
caught
up
in
willow
trees,
barbed
wire
fences,
and
so
he
slogs
his
way
through.
KERRI
LUMB:
Interviews
are
right,
he's
got
to
be
ready
at
1:10
this
afternoon
for
another
radio
interview.
GENEVIEVE
HUSSEY:
Bruce
Lamb
and
his
wife
Kerri
head
up
the
support
team
which
is
documenting
Steve
Posselt's
journey.
One
of
their
main
aims
is
to
talk
to
as
many
children
as
possible.
BRUCE
LUMB:
The
fear
on
your
face
as
you're
about
to
go
over
the
water.
STEVE
POSSELT:
That's
not
fear.
BRUCE
LUMB:
We
don't
want
to
have
kids
being
negative
and
concerned
about
the
whole
thing,
so
we're
giving
them
positive
suggestions
about
things
that
they
can
do,
turning
off
light
switches,
using
energy
efficient
light
globes,
planting
trees,
that
sort
of
thing.
STEVE
POSSELT:
(speaking
to
school
children):
That's
it,
that's
all
there
is
to
it.
STEVE
POSSELT:
The
highlight
really
for
me
has
been
talking
to
the
kids.
It's
been
wonderful.
Bruce
and
Kerri
are
school
teachers
and
they
understand
what
it
means
to
make
a
difference
to
a
life,
I
guess,
and
for
me
it's
a
new
experience.
GENEVIEVE
HUSSEY:
At
St
George,
500
kilometres
west
of
Brisbane
on
the
Balonne
River,
the
locals
have
come
to
hear
what
Steve
Posselt
has
to
say
about
what
he's
seen
further
upstream.
St
George
is
a
major
cotton
growing
and
agricultural
hub.
Water
users
here
believe
they
have
the
balance
right.
LOCAL:
Humans
do
make
a
difference,
but
I
don't
believe
it's
making
the
difference
that's
trying
to
be
foisted
upon
us.
RICHARD
LOMMAN,
CO-CHAIR
SMART
RIVERS:
In
this
area
in
particular,
I
think
we're
using
it
very
sustainably.
We
spend
a
lot
of
money
monitoring
the
river
health
and
the
hydrology
of
it.
GENEVIEVE
HUSSEY:
Steve
Posselt
says
he's
listening
to
what
people
have
to
say
and
he's
been
impressed
by
the
efforts
some
are
making
to
take
care
of
their
rivers,
planting
trees
and
reintroducing
native
fish.
But
he
believes
the
state
of
the
Murray-Darling
and
the
stories
he's
heard
on
his
journey
also
send
a
stark
message
about
the
need
to
live
sustainably.
STEVE
POSSELT:
Some
of
it's
fairly
powerful.
There
was
a
lady
who
said
that
the
Condamine
River
at
Condamine
was
clear
when
she
was
a
child.
She
said
please
tell
the
story
of
our
rivers
because
I
don't
want
to
leave
them
like
this
for
my
grandchildren.
BRUCE
LUMB:
Okay
mate,
we'll
see
you
in
about
an
hour.
STEVE
POSSELT:
Right-o.
BRUCE
LUMB:
The
community
attitude
is
really
polarised,
and
there's
a
lot
of
people
who
are
very
angry
about
what
some
people
are
doing
with
water
in
the
area.
GENEVIEVE
HUSSEY:
But
some
still
question
the
timing
of
this
journey.
RICHARD
LOWMAN:
It's
interesting
that
someone
does
a
trip
like
that
hopefully
at
the
end
of
the
worst
drought
in
history,
perhaps
he
could
do
it
again
when
we
get
some
rain
and
get
a
flow
in
the
river
and
he
could
probably
sit
in
his
canoe
the
whole
way.
GENEVIEVE
HUSSEY:
Steve
Posselt
still
has
more
than
5,000
kilometres
to
go,
with
the
goal
to
be
in
Adelaide
for
Christmas
Day
celebrations.
He
believes
the
aim
of
his
journey
is
simple.
STEVE
POSSELT:
I
want
to
have
a
world
for
my
grandchildren
like
I
grew
up
in.
It's
important
to
me
now
that
I'm
alive,
that
I
didn't
die,
that
I
continue
to
make
a
difference.
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