Jim Turnour (Leichhardt, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

It is great to be here tonight to support the Farm Household Support Amendment (Additional Drought Assistance Measures) Bill 2008. Exceptional circumstances were established under the Hawke government, and it is great to be part of a Rudd government supporting that long tradition that we have had in supporting regional and rural Australia. I was lucky enough to be born from farming stock. My parents had a property in the Northern Territory, 60 miles south of Darwin, and ran cattle and grew small crops. I currently live in Cairns and represent rural people in the Cape York Peninsula area. I have also worked extensively in western Queensland.

Having been born in the Territory and coming from tropical North Queensland—and I know the member for Kennedy would understand this—I can tell you we get a lot of rain up there and we are lucky to come from an area that does not necessarily suffer from drought. But, having come from a rural background, I do understand, having worked in the Gulf and areas around Charters Towers and, in part of my earlier career, around Moura and Emerald, that these are some of the areas that have had significant drought problems over the last five to 10 years. This bill is an important one in providing support to those farming communities.

We talk a lot in the Rudd government about working families. There are working families out in rural and regional Australia that this bill is about supporting. It extends exceptional circumstances payments to small business operators in towns or communities of fewer than 10,000 people. Exceptional circumstances was originally established to support farming families, but there is an increasing recognition that drought not only impacts on farmers and graziers but also impacts very strongly on those communities. There are small businesses in those communities that have been suffering through this drought, and it is great to be here tonight supporting this bill that will extend exceptional circumstances payments to some of those businesses and working families out there in rural Australia who are doing it tough.

The bill also allows those businesses—farming and other small businesses—to earn more off-farm income. Allowing them to increase the amount that they can earn from $10,000 to $20,000 is effectively doubling that. When they are out in rural Australia doing it tough, working people know how to work and they want to get out there and do more to support their families. They are looking to make off-farm income and are looking to get out and make a quid to support their families. They do not like taking welfare.

Rural people do not like receiving welfare but, sadly, under the drought that we have had for an extended period of time, many people who have not previously had to get welfare have had to. It is also sad that the many small businesses that will benefit from the change that this legislation allows and brings into being—the ability for us to continue to make those payments and recognise those that have been made in the past—will be getting welfare for the first time. They want to get out there and work, so allowing them to earn not $10,000 but $20,000 allows them to also get out there and make more money to support their business.

The legislation also provides some concessions under Austudy and youth allowance for means testing. There are plenty of people out in rural and regional Australia who are actually asset rich but cash poor. When you are in drought, you might have a $1 million or $2 million property, but you are not actually making any money. Similarly, if you have a small business in town—whether it is selling groceries, running a tourism enterprise or selling farm machinery or agricultural supplies—when farmers are doing it tough, they do not come through your door and you do not make a quid.

People also may not travel to regional and rural areas because they are concerned about the drought—they have heard about the drought and there is not the incentive to get out there and travel as much. So there are people in all sorts of businesses who, while they may not be working directly as farmers or graziers, will benefit from this because they have previously had income and they may have significant assets but they do not have any cash.

We want to ensure that young people who want to get an education do not have barriers put up. This legislation will allow concessions to be provided in the means testing components so that they can access Austudy and youth allowance. It will also allow those new people with exceptional circumstances to get healthcare cards as well. So it is a tremendous bill in terms of supporting people in rural Australia who are doing it tough. Coming from rural and regional Australia and working there all of my life, I do understand that there are people out there doing it tough.

The history of this long drought has been a very long one, and it was great to hear the member for New England speak tonight about some rain. The drought seems to be an act of God. For those listening to the broadcast tonight, the lights have just gone out in Parliament House, so we are standing here in the semidarkness. But I will continue.

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