Louise Markus (Greenway, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I rise today to speak about an epidemic which has crippled the equine industry in the Hawkesbury. Equine influenza is a highly contagious viral disease and, as a result, the entire Hawkesbury region has been quarantined. Last Friday I attended a meeting at the Hawkesbury Racecourse where I was able to speak with horse owners, staff and people who have equine related businesses. I heard firsthand about the challenges they were facing. One family’s entire income was dependent on their horse transportation business.

I welcome the Australian government’s announcement on Sunday of $110 million to assist the equine industry. This assistance will help many people in the Hawkesbury. I would like to acknowledge the Howard government in recognising the needs of the people in the equine industry and responding accordingly. It is only because of strong economic management by the Howard government that funding such as this can be made. With the Howard government, that assistance is able to be made with a quick response.

Many people have asked why the horse industry needs assistance. There is a misconception that the equine influenza outbreak affects only horse owners, who may be wealthy. This is not the case. This disease affects more than just owners; it has a knock-on effect impacting people including trainers, jockeys, farriers, stablehands, transport companies and vets, to name a few. The $110 million is in addition to the $4 million announced last week by the Australian government. The $4 million provided by the Australian government is being distributed to people who register with Racing NSW and other state authorities and provides them with up to $1,500 emergency assistance for essential bills. The Prime Minister and the Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry, the Hon. Peter McGauran, acknowledged this was not enough and worked together to create a package that would provide assistance for people from all facets of the industry. The result was this $110 million assistance package. For people who no longer have a wage, there will be a wage supplement payment available, which is the equivalent of Newstart allowance and which will be backdated to 25 August. For businesses that derive the majority of their income from the commercial horse industry, there will be business assistance grants of up to $5,000 provided. There is a commercial horse assistance payment, which will be paid to the carers of horses that normally compete but who, because of quarantine restrictions, have not been able to generate an income. It is estimated that the carers of up to 10,000 horses will be eligible for this assistance alone in New South Wales, the ACT and Queensland. Up to $10 from the commercial horse assistance payment will be retained by Racing NSW and used for limited purposes, including public liability. This also includes grants of up to $200,000 for non-government and not-for-profit equestrian organisations that have incurred expenses directly related to the outbreak. (Time expired)