Mr Tony Burke (Watson, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry) Share this | Hansard source

I thank each of the members for their questions on somewhat different themes. Can I deal first of all with the question from the member for Riverina. I do not have the Treasury budget papers in front of me, but I will refer to the question that was asked of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry’s budget papers. The reason you have an unusual annotation that had not appeared in previous budget papers is that in the ordinary course those programs may well have been extended for a further four years. The reason for doing it for 12 months is purely in the context of a drought review which would, presuming we reach a landing place with industry, have a new suite of programs that would cover similar work.

In terms of the overall effort of making sure that we continue to provide the support in mental health, in EC payments and in financial counselling, there is no change for people in any of those, even though there are some different methods that appear in the budget papers. The level of support that was there last year and that was there the year before is there next year as well for people on EC.

Can I also add the guarantee—to repeat again here what I have said a number of times and has been stated as well by the Prime Minister—that as we look toward any future drought policy, and as we look towards trying to find a way of shifting from crisis management to risk management, the only way you can properly do that is by saying that those would be rules which would apply to the next drought, not to the current one. That is why, even under the proposals we are looking at for a potential new drought policy, we are not looking at and not canvassing any options which would change the rules from under people who are currently receiving EC assistance. Any changes are about trying to help people who are already off the EC prepare for the next drought. They are the sorts of principles that have guided everything within the drought reviews. That has been affirmed by me, affirmed by the Prime Minister and affirmed by all the agriculture ministers around Australia at ministerial council as well.

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