Drug tests shatter the image of Aussie shearers

Drug tests shatter the image of Aussie shearers
By Kathy Marks in Sydney
Published: 24 May 2007
Independent UK

While politicians and parents fret about the use of illegal drugs in Australian cities, the problem has surfaced in an unlikely quarter: the shearing shed.

One 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 clubbers.

"The people that are on this stuff, they become completely complacent to everybody else in the shed," Mr Boyle told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC). "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 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 every six to eight weeks - are healthier, more sociable and more productive. They no longer take recreational drugs even at weekends, he believes.

The shearer, celebrated in poems and ballads, is an enduring symbol of rural Australia. But the reality of the job is back-breaking work, low wages and a mind-numbing routine. The number of people in the industry has fallen steeply in recent years. Illegal 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. The association is considering running workshops on how to conduct drug testing programmes.

Vikki Gates, secretary of the association, told ABC that the synthetic crystal meth had "very rapidly" become a problem because it was so cheap to produce.

Mr Boyle added that "speed balls" were also a drug of choice. "Drop one of them into a glass of drink and it'll whizz them through the day," he said. "It'll get them through Monday and probably half of Tuesday. But then they come down and they're just absolutely flat for the rest of the week. If I can do something on a small level and make it not acceptable in the industry, well by Jeez, I'll give it 100 per cent."