Lisa Chesters (Bendigo, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Prime Minister. Why does the Prime Minister's talking points say that the government recognises how tough drought is, when he is withdrawing the farm household allowance from hundreds of drought-stricken farm families?

Scott Morrison (Cook, Liberal Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I thank the member for her question. She may be interested to know that, in the year 2017, the amount paid out under the farm household allowance was $33,735,000—

Ms Chesters interjecting—

Tony Smith (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The member for Bendigo won't interject. The Prime Minister has the call.

Scott Morrison (Cook, Liberal Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

In the year most recently completed, the amount paid out—on the most recent numbers that we received this morning—was $114,155,000. Since the drought summit last year, as I referred to in an earlier answer today, we have made some very significant changes to the farm household allowance, and we didn't make those changes unilaterally. The Minister for Water Resources, Drought, Rural Finance, Natural Disaster and Emergency Management, then minister for agriculture, commissioned a review of the farm household allowance and went out and spoke directly to all those affected in the sector through that independent review process. That independent review process recommended that we go from three years to four years, and for that four years to be four in every 10—four in every 10. I remind the member that, when the Labor Party was in power, it was three years only, for life—three years, for life! We increased that to four years in 10 and now, in this year most recently completed, we've provided $114.2 million to support those families and eased up on the compliance requirements and the assessment requirements, which has enabled more of those families, numbering some 6,000 now—which, when Labor was in, numbered only around 300 or thereabouts. I heard before that the drought has just started. We learnt in Queensland today, in the minister for drought's electorate, that it's been going for eight years. So in all of that period of time what we've done, and what we have most recently done through the National Drought Summit, has been to increase access to that payment, and we will continue to consult closely with the community when it comes to making any further changes if they are considered necessary. But we're acting in accordance with the advice, and the head of the farmers' peak body in Queensland has been very clear about the need to maintain those arrangements as they've been set. That's what AgForce has said.

And so we're going to listen to the farmers and we're going to listen to the rural communities. That's why in just the last few weeks since we sat in this place, together with the New South Wales government we've put over a billion dollars into new dams and upgraded dams. We've put over $60 million into additional farm household assistance just since we have come back to this parliament. On top of that we've put an additional $14 million into drought-affected local government areas to ensure that we can keep those local economies moving. We will continue to respond to the drought as and when we need to each and every day, and that will go on into the future with our full support.