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

Thank you, Senator McMahon, for your question. And I want to thank the chamber for its support on the farm household allowance bill that was passed yesterday. Our farmers contribute significantly to our national prosperity, and many, as we know, are suffering the impacts of drought. Today many of these very same farmers are helping their own communities, or those in other states, with their Rural Fire Service to help fight fires. We want to thank them for their service. It's important to note that, with the drought, there is often bipartisan support for measures to assist. I appreciate the support of the Labor Party, the Greens, Centre Alliance senators, Senator Bernardi and other crossbenchers for frontline support for drought affected farmers.

Yesterday I met with dairy farmers from Queensland and New South Wales who are experiencing hardship from the high input costs of fodder, water and electricity. The farm household allowance works to support farmers in many forms of hardship, whether caused by high input costs or drought or needed in the aftermath of the terrible bushfires scorching much of the New South Wales and Queensland coast. FHA provides farmers and their families with money for basic household necessities while they make decisions about the future of their farm businesses and take action to improve their circumstances, with the support of our Rural Financial Counselling Service.

The passage of the farm household support amendment bill yesterday will result in immediate cash being provided to eligible farmers and their families by Christmas and significant and radical simplification and expansion of farmers being able to access the farm household allowance. We changed the way we treat off-farm income. We have also changed it, for the first time, so that farmers generating income from agistment will have that income considered against their losses. Importantly, it will allow for the minister to make a rule to provide these relief payments to people who have exhausted their first four years on FHA, going forward, without having to come back to the—