Damian Drum (Nicholls, National Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Minister for Agriculture and Northern Australia. Will the minister outline to the House how the Morrison-Joyce government has supported regional Australia through droughts, bushfires and now the COVID-19 pandemic and ensured that the agricultural industry has had the support it requires to prosper and remain a pillar of the economy?

David Littleproud (Maranoa, National Party, Minister for Agriculture and Northern Australia) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I thank the member for Nicholls for his question and I acknowledge the rich and proud history of the agriculture sector and the role played by Nicholls in helping us reach our $100 billion goal. He knows better than anyone that, over the last couple of years, we've not only had to face up to COVID-19 and the constraints that that has put on the agricultural sector; we've also had to face up to fires and drought. In fact, some parts of the country are still in drought. The Australian taxpayer, on behalf of the Australian government, has invested over $11 billion into drought programs and $2.8 billion towards bushfire recovery, of which $2.4 billion has gone out the door. The last piece is around making sure the long-term economic reconstruction of these communities takes place.

The commitment around drought funding has been significant in making sure that we build resilience into Australian agriculture well beyond and making sure that they reach our goal of $100 billion by 2030. To that end, we've created the National Drought Strategy. It has three simple pillars. The first is about the here and now, making sure our farmers have dignity and respect when times get tough—a social security payment that let's them put bread and butter on the table, take the kids to sport on Saturday and do the things they normally do. Through the Regional Investment Corporation, $4 billion worth of concessional loans have gone out to support farmers not just to restock and replant but, in the height of the drought, to refinance up to $2 million of their debt from a commercial bank through the Regional Investment Corporation and pay zero interest and zero repayments. That put hundreds of thousands of dollars out of the big banks' pockets and into the pockets of farmers. That was about stimulating the community.

The second pillar is about stimulating the community—over $500 million of infrastructure projects to make sure those economies keep going. You've got to understand that, once the drought hits, it extends past the farm gate and into the communities that support them. When the farmers don't have money, there is no money going through those communities. This was about diversifying their economic base—investing in tourism, bringing people out there, bringing new money to the economy and thinking long term. We are the first government to think about the future. We created a Future Drought Fund—a $5 billion fund that those opposite voted against. In one of the most disgraceful acts in our nation's history, in the middle of a drought, they voted against a $5 billion drought fund that gives a $100-million investment every year. This was meant to be about supporting an agriculture industry that now makes over $70 billion. But those opposite turn their back on Australian farmers in their greatest time of need. There is no alternative to that because, in the last budget speech, those opposite could not even use the word 'agriculture' once. So regional and rural Australia depends on the coalition that it has a future well beyond— (Time expired)