David Littleproud (Maranoa, National Party, Minister for Water Resources, Drought, Rural Finance, Natural Disaster and Emergency Management) Share this | Hansard source

I thank the member for Indi for her question. Those halcyon days when I was 16! Let me make clear that we do have a drought strategy that is in action as we speak. It comes in three phases. It comes in the support we are providing in the here and now in keeping people in business. That's through the farm household allowance and through the concessional loans that are saving farmers tens of thousands of dollars because of the Regional Investment Corporation and the competitive interest rate we are providing.

The second phase is about community, because it is not just farmers that hurt during drought; it is also small businesses. That's why we have worked with local government, through the Drought Communities Program, to provide a million dollars to stimulate those economies, to get tradies going, to procure local materials from local hardware stores and to leave a lasting legacy of a project that the community can all enjoy. The third phase is about the future and preparing us for future droughts, in making sure we prepare not only farmers but also communities. We are proudly going to create the Future Drought Fund, a $5 billion fund that will give a $100 million dividend in the good and bad times, to make sure we can support these communities and put in place the measures that will support these communities. We have been quite clear.

Out of respect to the NFF, who we asked as the peak agricultural representative body to have input, we are saying that, as we continue to be agile with this drought, we will take parts if they can be constructive and implemented, and we will work with them. That's what a good government does; it listens, and it understands. We will continue to act as we need to act.

Our strategy is in action, with over $2 billion in the here and now keeping people going and keeping those communities going—many of which are in my own electorate. My whole electorate has been in this, some of it for up to eight years. I see those people. I know them by name and by face. It is important that the support that we provide is in the here and now, but that we also protect them for the future because, invariably, there will be droughts in the future. If we equip them with the tools to adapt and to attack the drought, then we, as regional Australia, will be stronger for it.

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