Bridget McKenzie (Victoria, National Party, Minister for Regional Services) Share this | Hansard source

Thank you, Senator Williams, for your question. Christmas should be a time when families celebrate, but this will not be the case for our farmers and the people living in the regional communities affected by drought. The drought is tough, and it will take many years for some of these communities to recover. Our government stands shoulder to shoulder with them with real support. This real support is only possible because the Liberal-National government has done the hard work to put our economy in a strong position so that at times of stress we have the fiscal ability to provide these essential services.

Five years after coming into government, the Liberal-Nationals are ensuring that we have a budget that is coming back into surplus—rather than promise one, we deliver. We know that when our regions are strong, so, too, is our economy, and that's why we're backing our farmers and regional communities during this drought. Our government has provided $7 billion in support for our farmers and rural and regional communities in response to the drought. You can't do that, you can't deliver that level of support, without a strong economy.

There's an $81 million extension to the Drought Communities Program to drought affected councils to employ locals; $30 million for farmers, farm workers and farm suppliers facing financial hardship because of the drought; $72 million to enhance a long-term water security strategy for Australia. We're committing to invest $100 million each year into a $5 billion Future Drought Fund, because we know that this will occur again and we need to be ready when it does, after the rains come. Because of good economic management, the Liberal-National government has been able to invest billions of dollars to support farmers and their communities in their time of need.