Alby Schultz (Hume, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My very constructive question is addressed to the Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry. Would the minister advise the House of the government’s assistance to drought-affected farmers, including in my electorate of Hume?

Peter McGauran (Gippsland, National Party, Deputy Leader of the House) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I thank the honourable member for Hume for his question. He is a strong advocate for farmers in his electorate, and we deal on an almost daily basis on agriculture and drought issues. So he was very buoyed by the Prime Minister’s announcement yesterday that all eligible producers in exceptional circumstances declared areas in his electorate—including Young, Yass, Braidwood and Goulburn—will be able to access much-needed support for at least another 18 months. This was part of the government’s first instalment of additional measures in response to the increasingly devastating drought.

Farmers battling drought in 18 exceptional circumstances declared areas will receive an additional $350 million in drought support. This will bring the government’s commitment to date, as of today, to the current drought to $1½ billion. The assistance will be extended to all eligible producers, be they pastoralists, irrigators, dairy farmers or horticulturalists, in each of the regions until 31 March 2008. This is a very significant policy announcement by the government—the importance of which is not lost upon anybody in the rural community. The areas that we extended yesterday were coming to the end of their declarations, and there remain approximately another 38 regions which the government will be examining shortly.

I remind the House of the important role that farmers play in our local, state and national economies. Despite the severe drought of the last six years, Australian farmers have achieved record levels of production. Their exports account for a quarter of our export earnings and more than 350,000 Australians are directly employed in agriculture. Farming underpins a great many rural communities which would be lost to Australia without the farming income. On top of that, a great many small businesses service the farming sector. So by government, on behalf of the taxpayer and the wider community, supporting farmers we are also supporting those small businesses to the greatest extent possible through this drought. Also bear in mind that farmers have stewardship of 60 per cent of Australia’s landmass and, therefore, they play a very important role.

I make these obvious points to those critics who believe that drought assistance is not warranted. On economic and environmental grounds—let alone social grounds—it is vitally important. For that reason, our government will support farmers who make that vital contribution and we will continue to do so into the future.