Ursula Stephens (NSW, Australian Labor Party, Parliamentary Secretary Assisting the Prime Minister for Social Inclusion) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The Appropriation (Drought and Equine Influenza Assistance) Bill (No. 1) 2007-2008 and the Appropriation (Drought and Equine Influenza Assistance) Bill (No. 2) 2007-2008 will deliver urgent funding to cover new and expanded assistance measures for the drought and the outbreak of equine influenza that were announced last year. The measures include additional exceptional circumstances funding for farmers and farm-dependent small businesses and the emergency assistance package and eradication program for the horse flu outbreak. These bills require immediate passage as the administered appropriations provided to the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry have actually been exhausted. At the current rate of expenditure, the department will run out of appropriations by the end of February 2008.

The Appropriation (Drought and Equine Influenza Assistance) Bill (No. 1) requests additional funding for the department to meet increased expenses during the 2007-08 financial year. This money will cover the new and expanded drought relief assistance and provide financial aid to the horse industry as a result of the equine flu outbreak. The Appropriation (Drought and Equine Influenza Assistance) Bill (No. 2) seeks additional funding for the department to make payments to the states, territories and local government authorities for drought relief. It will also allow the department to reimburse the states and territories for costs associated with the national response to eradicating equine influenza. The majority of the costs of this response, while being reimbursed to states and territories at this stage, will be recovered from the horse industry through the national emergency animal disease response agreement, so cost recovery will be addressed in separate legislation.

The drought and equine influenza measures were announced by the previous government in September and October 2007. The equine influenza measures were extended by the government earlier this month. The measures are a response to the increasing severity of the drought and also provide immediate financial relief for the equine influenza outbreak that occurred in August last year.

The previous government’s measures were published in the media and in previous government documents and they now need to be substantially supported by additional appropriation. So these appropriation bills and the urgency with which we are treating them demonstrate the government’s commitment to assisting those communities affected by drought and to eradicating equine influenza. I commend the bills to the Senate.

Question agreed to.

Bills read a second time.