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

So the opposition choose to play politics with drought and drought-affected farmers because of their inability to make decisions and their lack of understanding and appreciation of the issues affecting regional Australia, whereas we, on the other hand, have a suite of measures already that we've been delivering in government and that we will continue to deliver not just for the present but, as I said, to build the resilience in our regional communities and our primary producers to deal with the next drought.

Since we were last here, I've travelled the country, meeting farmers, agribusiness owners, workers and families from rural and regional Australia, many of whom are suffering from the impacts of the drought. From Bowen to Dubbo, Mildura to Port Lincoln and right across the country, the message remains the same. Many of our regional communities are doing it really tough right now. For many, this drought is the worst they have ever experienced. It's long monotonous days of feeding cattle and sheep, of wondering how the next household bill or farm bill is going to get paid, of watching the horizon and the BOM radar results for a speck of cloud and pleasing data, and of praying for rain.

Our farmers are resilient. They're tough. They're used to the good and bad, but this drought has been tough and is testing even the best farmers out there. From day one, our government has prioritised backing our farmers. They not only feed and clothe our nation but help drive our nation's wealth, as they export 70 per cent of what they produce. The lifestyles of those living in the city are actually only possible because of the hard work of our primary producers.

We know as a government that, when regional Australia is strong and prosperous, our whole nation's economy is strong. Already as a government, we've provided $6.3 billion to farmers experiencing drought. Our support and assistance measures cover a range of areas, including financial assistance, investment in infrastructure, rural and regional mental health initiatives, combating pests and weeds, making information easier to access and improving existing services such as the farm household allowance and the Rural Financial Counselling Service.

But we're not only supporting our farmers now. We've always said we will support our farmers and their communities and hence our nation's future prosperity into the future, and that's exactly what this bill does. It is our government's commitment to supporting our agricultural sector into the future. The Future Drought Fund is a long-term investment to build drought resilience, including preparedness and recovery in our most drought-affected communities. It will enable farmers and their communities to fulfil their potential as productive and profitable contributors to the Australian economy by improving the performance of the overall agricultural sector. The Future Drought Fund will support research, development and innovation. We know that healthy farming landscapes created through innovative farming techniques will contribute to a drought-resilient and sustainable agricultural sector.

From the stump-jump plough to precision direct cropping, our farmers have always led the world in innovation. This fund will ensure the next innovations come sooner to help our farmers to continue to adjust. It will also support the delivery of infrastructure projects, promote the adoption of technology and deliver improved environmental and natural resource management to enhance sustainable agricultural practices. The Future Drought Fund will also provide farm and community support to bolster drought resilience across rural and regional communities. And, once established, the Future Drought Fund will provide a new, secure and predictable revenue stream to build drought resilience across Australia. This funding is additional to the funding already made available by the Liberal-National government to assist farmers during the existing drought and will not replace existing funding measures.

The Future Drought Fund will be managed by the Future Fund Board of Guardians, and these guys have a proven track record of managing investment portfolios on behalf of the government and of maximising returns over the long term. In setting the benchmark rate of return, the government will consider the objectives to grow the fund to around $5 billion and make annual payments of $100 million to the Agriculture Future Drought Resilience Special Account to build drought resilience.

Drought is a constant factor in our agricultural system. The establishment of the Future Drought Fund will provide new, secure and predictable funding streams for drought resilience into the future to ensure the potential of this vibrant industry is realised through resilience planning. Drought has been on our government's agenda from day one. Helping our farming communities face the challenges is a key focus of our government. We won't be playing politics on drought. We'll continue to back our regions, back our regional communities and farmers and fight for the issues they care about.

We've heard a lot of talk in some of the contributions about slush funds. I'm sure that, if the Greens held a regional seat—or, indeed, if the Labor Party had seats that were dependent on agriculture—they wouldn't be viewing this money as slush funding; they would be viewing this money as building the future capacity and resilience of those communities and providing more local jobs into regional communities of growing agriculture. For Nationals MPs and regional Liberal MPs, drought programs and future resilience are key not for a slush fund but in building and seeking to secure a safe, prosperous regional Australia and agriculture industry not just for them and their local communities but indeed for our entire nation. I support the bill.