For those of you who have never travelled to the country, cattle guards are horizontal steel rails placed at fence openings adjacent
to the road (and sometimes across the road) to prevent cattle from crossing. The cattle will not step on the guards for fear of getting their feet caught between the rails.
In 2008, Kevin Rudd received a report that there were over 10,000 cattle guards in New South Wales and Queensland. Graziers had protested his proposed changes in grazing policies, so he ordered the Minister to fire half of the cattle guards immediately.
Before the Minister could respond and presumably straighten him out, Minister for Employment Julia Gillard intervened with a request that, before any cattle guards were fired, they be given six months of retraining.
And now she is running the country!
