David Littleproud (Maranoa, National Party, Minister for Water Resources, Drought, Rural Finance, Natural Disaster and Emergency Management) Share this | Hansard source

I thank the member for Mallee for her question. The member for Mallee knows better than anyone the impacts this severe drought is having on her own communities. In fact, a couple of months ago I was out with farmers in Milawa, just outside Mildura. I was sitting and listening to them, hearing what's working and what more needs to be done in our drought response. It reaffirmed to me that our government's three-pillar response is having an impact.

The first of the three pillars is around the here and now. It's putting money in farmers' pockets, keeping them going until it rains—and it will rain. The second pillar is supporting those communities that support our farmers to get through this drought. They're also impacted by this. The third pillar is the future. We're the first government to face up to the next drought. What happens when it rains is that the next drought starts the day after it rains, and we have to prepare for that now. So we're putting aside $100 million a year in dividends to be able to build resilience and also putting aside over $3 billion in water infrastructure to harvest the water, dig holes and make sure that we grow regional Australia.

Some of the feedback which came back from the Milawa farmers that is evident in our next tranche of funding—over $709 million of the now over $8 billion in commitments to the drought—is our centrepiece through the Regional Investment Corporation loans, our drought loans. We've retweaked the loans and allowed them to change to allow farmers to refinance up to $2 million from their bank to the Regional Investment Corporation and pay no interest and make no repayment for two years. That will save a farmer on 6½ per cent over $150,000 in principal and interest. We are taking that out of big banks' hands and we are putting it back into farmers' pockets, helping their cash flow.

We're also saying to those farmers that they can use it, as I heard from those Milawa farmers, to pay for the fodder and freight. That's a state responsibility, but we are going to help them. We understand the impact that it has on their cash flow. We're saying that, when it rains, you will be able to replant and restock with these no-interest, no-repayment loans, because it takes time for your crop to grow to harvest and it takes time for your produce to grow and get to market. We understand the cash flows of these farmers. But we've extended it. For the first time we're taking it to the small businesses that support the agriculture sector, whose cash flow is directly linked to the agriculture sector through services and products. We're giving them the same terms for loans up to $500,000. We haven't forgotten the second pillar. We have put over $400 million in direct stimulus to keep tradies moving, to keep towns going through this drought.

There is also some support we can get from the states. I've written to all the states to say, 'Come with us.' This is above just one level of government. We all have a responsibility. Pay the rates, the payroll tax, and give Crown leasehold holidays to our farmers and small businesses to support them through this drought. If we stand shoulder to shoulder with one another, then we stand to make sure that regional and rural Australia survives one of the worst droughts in our history.

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