Lindsay Tanner (Melbourne, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Finance and Deregulation) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I move:

That this bill be now read a second time.

There are two appropriation bills providing urgent funding to cover new and expanded assistance measures for the drought and the outbreak of equine influenza announced last year. The appropriations contained in these bills meet the commitments announced in the 2007-08 Mid-Year Economic and Fiscal Outlook and Pre-Election Economic and Fiscal Outlook 2007 documents and agreements reached during the election. I shall introduce Appropriation (Drought and Equine Influenza Assistance) Bill (No. 2) shortly.

The measures provided for in Appropriation (Drought and Equine Influenza Assistance) Bill (No. 1) 2007-2008 include additional exceptional circumstances drought funding for farmers and farm dependent small businesses and emergency assistance to the horse industry as a result of the equine influenza outbreak.

These bills require immediate passage as the administered appropriations provided to the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry have been exhausted. At the current rate of expenditure, the department will run out of appropriations by the end of February 2008.

Appropriation (Drought and Equine Influenza Assistance) Bill (No. 1) requests additional funding of $506.9 million for the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry to meet increased expenses during the 2007-08 financial year. Of this money a total of $251.2 million is provided to cover the new and expanded drought relief assistance, and $255.7 million is provided for financial aid to the horse industry as a result of the equine influenza outbreak.

The drought and equine influenza measures were announced by the previous government in September and October 2007. The equine influenza measures were extended by the government earlier this month. The measures were a response to the increasing severity of the drought and to assist those suffering financial hardship as a result of the equine influenza outbreak that occurred in August last year.

Funding for the measures was not included in the May 2007 budget as the decisions on the assistance were only announced in September and October 2007. The Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry has been meeting all payments from its existing appropriations, but is now in urgent need of additional funding to be able to continue delivering assistance.

I commend the bill to the House.

Debate (on motion by Mr Hunt) adjourned.