The effects of the drought are hard to find in the cities. People complain about water restrictions - and the cost of produce is a lot higher than normal - but day to day living is much the same and the drought is something that they see on television and read about in the newspapers.
In the country - it's a whole new world. For a start, wages are a lot leaner than in the city and when times are hard a cut back in hours is the first casualty.
Country folk are proud people an in most cases they suffer a drop in income - and grin and bear it - rather than opt for the dole.
There are compensations. Country people are more likely to have a nice home garden and poultry to keep food on the table and it is not unusual for there to be several jobs running at the same time.
Perhaps a shift as barman in the local club - a stint at mustering at the sale yards - and a home industry - such as cutting and delivering firewood for the aged in their town.
Sadly there is also the inevitable loss of population in country towns. The older folk stick it out and hope for better times, but the young - and specially those with children - tend to migrate to the cities where there are job shortages - and to the mining boom areas of Western Australia and Queensland.
Eventually the drought will end, but it will have cast a long shadow over the rural areas of this country. If there are less children enrolled in country schools the education department will reduce teacher numbers. A reduced population means many small businesses will be enviable - and when the good times roll again - where will the workforce come from ?
Unfortunately we are seeing a form of sea change rolling across rural Australia - and the country towns that were the backbone of this nation will never be the same again !
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