Mathias Cormann (WA, Liberal Party, Minister for Finance) Share this | Hansard source

Certainly our small business and jobs package has been widely welcomed by rural and regional communities. For example, Ken McCaffrey, a well-known livestock agent in Senator Canavan's home state of Queensland, has told us that he has been talking to a number of property owners who are ordering new fencing and getting started on boosting their water storage capabilities. Thanks to some welcome showers of rain in parts of central, western and southern Queensland in recent days, they may well have a little more water to store along the way.

Overall, Mr McCaffrey tells us, the fact that farmers can fully deduct the cost of water facilities and fencing the year they purchase and deduct the cost of water storage assets over three years has meant not just a boost for those farmers but also for related businesses in rural communities that will be supplying the fencing materials and other equipment required.

It is fair to say that businesses across rural and regional Australia have very much welcomed this budget initiative. (Time expired)