Jane Prentice (Ryan, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

I stand in this place today as the daughter of a farmer and in strong support of the Farm Household Support Bill 2014. I understand the trials and tribulations that go with depending on the land for your living. In fact, I remember when growing up they introduced a board game called Squatter, and my father could never bring himself to play it, because he said it was too realistic. Every round of the board you were faced with a drought, a famine, a fire and a flood; and, if you survived that, usually your stud ram died in the last few squares of the game.

As the drought takes hold, farmers have to watch as their cattle slowly starve and their crops turn to dust. You cannot do anything to help them; there is no water to make the grass grow, and buying food for cattle becomes increasingly expensive. There are many who speak up about the isolated incidents of animal cruelty that happen overseas, yet I question where their voices are now when hundreds of thousands of animals are dying slow, painful deaths in our own country.

Assistance to farmers in times of need is a serious matter. I am proud today to stand on this side of the chamber bringing in legislation that will establish the farm household allowance and give some small hope and assistance to Australia farmers. It is the determination of this government to stand by these Australians in the hard times. We cannot work miracles—there are no magic wands—but we do what we need to offer some small support. This new package will assist drought affected farm businesses and farm families in dealing with the immediate financial pressures and improve their capacity to recover when the current drought breaks. The coalition government is introducing measures that will assist farmers and their families with managing during drought and being in a stronger financial and emotional position to effectively recover when the drought ends.

This package includes measures that offer financial, social and mental health support to our farming communities. The drought assistance package will provide $280 million to hundreds of farmers to access five-year concessional loans at a rate of four per cent up to the value of $1 million. It enables farmers to access a fortnightly farm household allowance which is equivalent to the Newstart allowance even if they have total net farm assets of up to $2.5 million on paper. This package will also provide additional money to the Queensland and New South Wales state governments for water related infrastructure rebates as well as $10 million to help reduce the impacts of wild pigs and other pest animals. Another $10.7 million will be provided to help with the delivery of social support services, including access to mental health support in drought affected areas.

As the Prime Minister has stated, the measures in this bill are largely building on existing programs, but the coalition government is making them more responsive to the particular needs of farmers who are hit by drought. The interim farm household allowance will replace the current transitional farm family payment, and payments to new applicants under the interim farm household allowance started back on 3 March 2014. The coalition recognises that most farmers cannot easily access other forms of assistance compared to others in financial hardship. Having a farmer-specific income support payment ensures that these farmers in hardship can access support when they need it most to put food on the table and pay the bills. The new payment provides a more generous asset test than the previous transitional farm family payment, ensuring more families and farmers can receive support in difficult times. Under the new payment farmers will automatically receive a Health Care Card, and these changes are an interim measure until the farm household allowance commences on 1 July 2014. Funding for this measure is uncapped, meaning it will be available to anyone meeting the eligibility criteria.

We often hear in the media about drought affecting farmers, but rarely do we understand what it actually means. The most immediate consequence of drought is a fall in crop production, due to inadequate and poorly distributed rainfall, and the subsequent loss of income. Farmers are then faced with harvests that are too small to both feed their families and fulfil their other commitments. Livestock sales act as a buffer in times of hardship, with farmers divesting of these assets to buy food. The first animals to be sold are usually those which make the least contribution to farm production, such as sheep and goats. However, as the period of drought-induced flood deficit lengthens farmers will have to start selling transport and draft animals as well as breeding stock, which constitutes the basis of the household's wealth.

Farming is a very significant part of our economy and will continue to play a crucial role in our economic future, which is why the coalition government is offering this $324 million dollar drought lifeline to our struggling farmers. The future of farming is vital to the future of Australia. I am proud to support these measures and I commend the bill to the House.

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