Ann Sudmalis (Gilmore, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

First of all, the most important thing here is that our farmers be aware that they should be ringing the Rural Financial Counselling Service on 1800686175 or the family assistance hotline on 132316, and under no circumstances should they self-assess. There are many conditions that may allow them to get help when they absolutely need it, and they may not realise that the hand of the government is there for them. It's important that they don't rely on trying to assess their own assets and property. There's help available, and we have the resources to help them.

The Farm Household Support Amendment (Temporary Measures) Bill 2018 is a bill to help and to amend the Farm Household Support Act 2014. Under this bill, two temporary changes to the Farm Household Allowance program will happen. Firstly, it will increase the farm assets threshold to a net $5 million until 30 June 2019. Increasing the net farm asset threshold to this amount will give more farmers access to the allowance during times of hardship, which is what we're facing right now. It will help those farmers who have little or no cash flow to access assistance that provides them an allowance as well as breathing room to prepare for and adapt to change. It means these farmers won't have to sell their assets and risk taking away some or all of their future income-producing capacity from their farm. It also recognises that farm assets can be difficult to sell quickly and that during tough times these are often sold for less than they're worth.

Secondly, this bill proposes to pay a supplement to all eligible farm household recipients. That's in addition to their fortnightly income support payments. These temporary measures will help our farmers in need in the short term while we undertake an independent review of the program. The review, to be completed in the first half of 2019, will provide further guidance on the design elements of the farm household allowance well into the future. There will be some lump sum payments. This means that, if both members of a couple are receiving the allowance between September this year and June next year, they will receive 6,000 bucks each, or 12,000 per household. In all other circumstances, the maximum amount payable will be $7,200.

No farmer who lodges a claim for the farm household assistance on or before December will be disadvantaged. If they're eligible, they'll get back pay, right to the date of lodgement, and also receive the supplement. They will receive farm household assistance during the second payment, which is from December to June next year, and they will receive the maximum supplement.

The assistant supplement will give farming families much-needed cash to inject into their local economies. This will also help to put food on their tables and cover basic expenses such as their bills and school fees. As with the increases to the farm assets threshold, it will provide a safeguard for farm families who might be forced to liquidate farm assets to support themselves—and, heaven help us, that constricts their future. This assistance includes income support, independent financial assessment, individualised case management and an activity supplement that pays for advice and training. The safety net supports farmers in hardship while they take steps to improve their situation. And $5 million has been allocated to the Rural Financial Counselling Service so they can go out and talk to the farmers face-to-face and help them through these hard times.

We are working on ways to make the process simpler and quicker for farmers. I have already received email saying it is a little onerous, so we are working on that. We extended the Farm Household Allowance program from three years to four. All of these measures are immediate and on top of the $586 million in relief we have already announced, as well as concessional loans now available through the Regional Investment Corporation.

Many farmers find themselves in a difficult position. In my case, it is the dairy farmers. They don't want to put their hands out for a handout, so we are working to help raise awareness of the cost of milk. I recently wrote to the CEOs of Aldi, Coles, Woolworths and IGA and highlighted that just 20c a litre, 20c a dozen and 20c a kilogram from the profit margin would help our farmers. For the last eight years, the price of milk has been fixed at a dollar a litre. Nothing else on our shelves has remained constant during this time. In 2017 it was reported that the ACCC found the dairy pricing system to be outdated and skewed in favour of the large dominant supermarkets and processors, with farmers enjoying no real bargaining power and limited scope to rearrange their businesses and milk contracts to either accurately predict their current incomes or improve their selling options. The report made eight recommendations, including locking major processors into a mandatory code of conduct which would make milk pricing contracts more transparent, introducing more competition for farmers' milk and banning retrospective milk price cuts in mid-season, which has actually happened. Our local farmers in Gilmore want to have the ability to build their own resilience and futureproof themselves on their own merits as producers. This change in retail price specifically for milk will make a huge difference to them. I think the farm household assistance is just another part of the jigsaw puzzle and helping them get through these really tough times.

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