Alison Penfold (Lyne, National Party) Share this | Hansard source

I'm not sure what the New South Wales Premier is playing at, but primary producers in my electorate are the ones paying the price. We learned just last Wednesday during budget estimates in the New South Wales Legislative Council that less than a quarter of primary producers have been approved for cat D primary producer disaster recovery payments—that is, out of 1,036 applications, 783 farmers are still waiting for assistance. I could stand here and lambaste the New South Wales government for its abject failure to do its job, but what does that achieve for the farmers who are hurting and have been let down by bureaucracy? The pain they feel is acute. They're angry, and rightly so. I asked governments to get this right and to be at their best, because the impact is acute, not benign.

In the same budget estimates, the Premier thought it was smart politics to pass the buck on why the system is failing farmers. He said that the remittance from the Commonwealth government is too slow and that we need better assistance and more integrated approvals from the Commonwealth. Is he saying that farmers are not getting the relief because the Albanese government isn't paying its bills? Is he suggesting that individual farmer assessments require the approval of the Commonwealth? Methinks the Premier was simply trying to deflect from the failure of his government to do what he promised to do for farmers on the Mid North Coast, some in person. I've written today to the Minister for Emergency Management, seeking clarification of the Premier's comments.

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