AGFORCE
has urged Federal Government to rethink its drought assistance policy and
recognise existing frameworks miss the mark as primary producers across
Queensland continue to suffer the worst drought in a generation.
At a meeting in Canberra yesterday with Minister for Agriculture, Barnaby
Joyce, AgForce Chief Executive Officer, Charles Burke, along with
representatives of National Farmers' Federation and NSW Farmers, reiterated the
need for drought policy reform so as to better meet the needs of farming
families and to quell the impact of drought on rural communities.
"Queensland producers are operating under an unprecedented set of
conditions that are well beyond their control or capacity to prepare for and
need further effective assistance," Mr Burke said.
"At yesterday's meeting, we presented an agreed set of recommendations
which require the urgent attention of the Minister and which were aimed at
addressing the barriers to those in genuine need of Federal assistance.
"These recommendations are not new and many have been raised previously
with the Minister, his office and the Department when existing drought schemes
were first introduced and again last year."
The recommendations presented yesterday included:
- Simplifying
applications for the Farm Household Allowance and applying farmer-friendly
asset and off-farm income tests that don't act against drought
preparedness and management efforts;
- Extending
access to the FHA for farm workers so they don't have to leave employment
or the local area to apply;
- Getting
better primary lender support and extending repayment periods for
concessional loans so repayment is not required before farms have fully
recovered from drought;
- Provide
greater relief from immediate financing costs by reducing loan interest to
be in line with the actual cost to government;
- Extending
further funding to enable access to concessional loans for farm-dependent
rural businesses;
- Provide
further funding for the well-received water infrastructure rebate which
addresses animal welfare concerns and could be extended to include
resilience-building improvements;
- Provide
emergency income to drought-affected local governments, such as grants for
infrastructure projects like wild dog and macropod fencing.
Mr Burke said preliminary and distressing
results of a drought survey of AgForce members reiterated the need for urgent
action (see results in Editor's Notes below).
"With the end of the current northern wet season approaching and with
below average rainfall again received in many areas many of our members are
facing their fourth season without significant, or even moderate, income,"
Mr Burke said.
"We welcome the government's proposal announced today to deliver an
economic stimulus package to provide employment opportunities in drought-affected
communities and look to the government to consult with rural groups in
developing that proposal.
"However, these current measures miss the mark in terms of what is
required and we urge the Minister to complete consideration of our
recommendations as soon as possible so as to help ensure farming families who
run viable businesses which contribute to our economy are not destroyed by a
near unprecedented weather event."
