Malcolm Turnbull (Wentworth, Liberal Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Hansard source

I rise to update the House on the drought, to affirm the nation's support for our courageous farmers and farming communities and to outline measures we are taking to help. All of New South Wales and two-thirds of Queensland are officially in drought, with many other areas suffering too. According to the Bureau of Meteorology, it's the worst drought in New South Wales since the mid-1960s and may turn out to be worse. Unlike a fire or a flood, which inflict immediate physical damage to people, property, homes and infrastructure, a drought is insidious, longer and more widespread. Farmers find themselves going to enormous expense just to keep their livestock alive in the hope of rain, physically working harder than ever and losing money all the time.

Part of drought preparation and management is timely destocking but that raises the awful question of whether you'll be able to afford to restock when the drought breaks. The New South Wales farmer who destocked six months ago will feel confident he made the right call. His neighbour may wish he had done the same, but if it had rained five months ago their perceptions would be reversed. The croppers are facing hard times as well. Many winter crops sewn will fail and others won't be sewn at all.

Our climate is tough but so are our farmers. They are resourceful, resilient and innovative, quick to develop and adopt new technologies. Agriculture contributes three per cent to our economy, a gross value of $60 billion in 2017-18. Australian farmers export about 77 per cent of what they produce. Farm exports, aided by our big free trade agreements, earnt $44.8 billion in 2016-17, up from $32.5 billion in 2010-11.

The National Farmers' Federation's vision for a $100 billion a year farm gate industry is undaunted by the drought. In 2016-17 304,000 people were directly employed in agriculture, with the complete supply chain, including food and fibre industries, providing over 1.6 million jobs. Governments need to respond swiftly and effectively. There is no set and forget here. Just as the drought evolves, so must our policy responses. We have to be as practical and clear-eyed as the farmers we're supporting.

Last week I announced a $190 million drought package, bringing our government's drought policy commitment to more than $576 million. The farm household allowance, typically around $16,000, is being supplemented this year by two one-off payments amounting to $12,000 per couple. We've also extended the availability of the farm household allowance for another year and eased the asset test. Thousands more farmers will be eligible. I urge farmers to ensure they're getting all the help that's available by seeking advice from the rural financial counsellors we've engaged. We have also provided $11.4 million for mental health support initiatives and $15 million for not-for-profit community groups in drought-affected areas. This is in addition to the more than $852 million in concessional loans for drought and other assistance approved to 1,559 farm businesses since 2013.

The Regional Investment Corporation, established on 1 July, has $2 billion available for concessional loans to farm businesses and over $2 billion for concessional loans for water infrastructure that will enhance water security and support regional economies. In 2016, to support resilience, we doubled the amount farmers could put into farm management deposits to $800,000, changing the law to allow them to be used as offsets against a farmer's mortgage. A record $6.6 billion was held in 55,000 accounts at 30 June this year so that many farmers putting money aside, free of tax, in good years can bring to account in tough years like this one. We are also working on further long-term measures to improve the resilience of our rural communities and will be announcing the next phase of our drought support in coming weeks.

I would like finally to commend everyone who has rallied behind our farmers and the communities who support them. I want to thank families, businesses and charities but also the kids. Young Maisie in Western Australia gave two years of her pocket money to help the farmers. There is young Jack at St John the Baptist Catholic Primary School in Freshwater, whose Fiver for a Farmer campaign has raised 10 times what he'd hoped for. When nature throws its worst at us, it brings out the best in Australians. To our farmers, who grow the food we eat and the fibre we wear, we thank you for your tenacity and courage. Now, in these hard, dry times, more than ever, we have your back.

See this speech in context