Matthew Canavan (Queensland, Liberal National Party, Minister for Resources and Northern Australia) Share this | Hansard source

Again, the Prime Minister in particular has been willing to pull out all stops to make sure we get the assistance flowing to those hurting from this unprecedented event. Already the government has lifted the assistance available to all primary producers from $25,000 to $75,000. That funding, I believe, is already flowing. We also have a range of concessional loans for farmers, and the ADF is providing assistance to get fuel and fodder out to those farms that need it. But the main thing that I want to focus on is not what we have done but what we will do. We will make sure we'll be here for the long term for these communities. It will take many months, if not years, for some areas to recover from this event, and my message to them is: the government is with you to help. We will do everything we can make to make sure people get back on their feet. There is a bright future for many of these areas, particularly given the rain they have received; they will just need a lot of assistance and help to get there, and we're going to provide it to them.