Dan Tehan (Wannon, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

I would like to return to the Farm Household Support Bill 2014 and the Farm Household Support (Consequential and Transitional Provisions) Bill 2014. We have just had I think 12 minutes on every other subject but the bills. These are important bills and I think we should be addressing them here in the House at this time and leaving other issues to better forums.

These bills are about addressing drought. The people currently experiencing drought are going through what can only be described as a natural disaster. As the Prime Minister has said, the determination of the Abbott government is to stand by Australians in good times and in bad times. We cannot work miracles and there are no magic wands, but we will do what we can to help in difficult times, and, plainly, for quite a large number of farmers now these are difficult times.

I remember growing up on a farm as a boy and experiencing the 1982-83 drought and the difficulties faced then on our farm and across the nation as it was hit by one of the worst droughts that we had seen. The situation in many parts of Queensland and New South Wales is worse than that drought. My empathy and sympathy go to those farmers who are currently battling drought. To see the impact that drought has on your livelihood, on the animals and crops you are relying on for your annual income, can be absolutely destroying. The farmers and their families have to deal with this. They have to deal with both the physical and mental strains of this.

It was very pleasing to see the Prime Minister understand this and in a very considered manner deal with it. I say that because there has been talk from the other side that this policy was rushed. It was nothing of the sort. The Prime Minister consulted. He consulted with relevant MPs from regional and rural Australia in the Liberal and National parties who have a real understanding of the impact of drought on the ground. He then visited key electorates suffering from drought. With the Minister for Agriculture and other relevant MPs he brought together a package to deal with the current circumstances.

It is worth mentioning that we were left in this situation because the previous government had singularly failed to put forward a long-term drought policy for this nation. They had abolished the previous approach but had done nothing to put in place a policy we could use in these circumstances. So this government was beholden once again to clean up the previous government's mess. That is what we have done. We have done that through this program.

In the first instance we have done it through the Interim Farm Household Allowance package, which came into effect on 3 March, so we can give immediate help and immediate support to those farmers who are being impacted by drought. Come 1 July the interim package will no longer exist and the package we see here today will come into effect. It means farmers will be able to access the farm household assistance package as they need to. They will be able to access it not only in New South Wales and Queensland but also in other areas if they, unfortunately, are also impacted by drought. This will provide immediate assistance for them.

The farm household allowances are not the only part of the package that the government has put together. There are also the drought concessional loans. We are providing $280 million for concessional loans to assist drought affected farm businesses recover from drought and return to profitability. A key aspect of the concessional loans is helping farmers return to profitability. If you cannot make a profit then it is very hard for you to continue to run a business, or in this instance a farm.

There are two key components in what we have put together. In the first instance there is immediate support for those farming households and in the second instance there are concessional loans to help them return to profitability. Farmers will potentially be able to change the way their overdraft facilities are working and be able to go to their bank and say: 'I have the ability to access these concessional loans. What can you do for me?'

The drought concessional loans of up to $1 million or up to 50 per cent of eligible debt, whichever is lower, will be provided to eligible farm businesses at an initial rate of four per cent for a five year period. This will enable those farmers to be able to make sure that they can restructure their businesses after the impact of this drought. It will ensure that they can continue to trade and continue to run the business and turn it into a profitable business once again. We need to do that because the farm sector is a sector which will, in a large part, ensure that our economy continues to grow into the future. We have all seen the surveys, the studies and the reports which have been done. These reports say how important our agriculture sector is going to be to the future economic success of this nation. What we as a government have to do, is to make sure that we are there to support our farmers when the difficulties of natural disaster hit. This is what our government is doing.

As part of the package, we are providing $10 million to help on the social side. One of the sad things about drought is that it has a real impact on the social side of farming families. It can put pressure on the farm, the farmer, the spouse and the children. The impact can be incredibly detrimental. Many farming operations take place in a very isolated environment. In times of hardship, there is a need for people to get the advice and the assistance that they need to make sure that they can deal with the real stresses of dealing with financial pressures and what they are seeing happen to their livelihood. This can have a real impact on farm family life. The government understands that. That is why a key component has been to provide $10 million to assist in this vital area. These are vital services. They are services which are provided to many people in communities across the nation. Because of their isolation, these services are not readily available to those people who are on farms out in regional and rural parts of Australia. This $10 million will ensure that in times of real need these people can get the assistance that they need. This is an important part of this package. Vitally, it also shows that the government has listened. It is all very well addressing short-term and then long-term financial need, but you also have to have an understanding of the real social impact that drought can have. The package has recognised that. It is a comprehensive package in that regard.

Once again, I would like to make mention of the roles the Prime Minister and the agriculture minister have played in pulling this together. It has been done with proper consultation. It has been done with thought. It has been done in a considered way. It is not one of these packages which has been put together over the weekend to try to get the headline to try to deal with the issue in a way which will deal with the 24-hour news cycle. This is a package which was put together through proper consultation, through proper consideration and through having a real understanding of the needs of those people out on those communities. At the same time it has been done understanding that sadly, given the reckless spending which has occurred in the last six years, whatever we do in the current circumstances we have to understand that our children and their children cannot be left with an increasing financial burden. We have to lead the way in showing that this generation can live within its means. So we have had to balance that with making sure that we have done what needed to be done for these people who are suffering drought.

In summing up on this piece of legislation, what we have is three key components to this drought package. We have the first part of it, which is the farm household allowance. We have the interim farm household allowance, which came in on 3 March, which will be replaced on 1 July. In this instance, it will help farmers immediately. There are also the drought concessional loans. These are there to help with the profitability of farmers, to enable them to restructure out of drought. Hopefully, very soon we will get the much-needed rain. Then they can turn their attention to, 'Okay, how can I restructure my finances, get some concessional loans at four per cent and ensure that I can return profitability back to my business?' Then there is also the social support assistance, that $10 million which will enable much-needed assistance and help to go into those households who are facing the real stress, both financially and emotionally, that drought can put on farming families. The future of farming in this nation is a bright one.

I have absolute confidence in the future of Australian agriculture and Australian farming. All we have to do is to make sure that, when natural disasters hit the sector, the government is there to help farmers and that we have policies in place to ensure that the sector is profitable, so that this fantastic sector can go on feeding this nation and the world. We should not listen to the pessimists in this regard. We should listen to those who have confidence in this sector, who know that it is a provider of export income to this nation, who are out there working hard and efficiently to ensure they follow world's best practice. This nation should be very proud of our farmers, who continue to provide an income for this nation, to feed it and to feed the world.

Debate interrupted.

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