Mark Coulton (Parkes, National Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The drought in the north-west of New South Wales and Western Queensland has for some time been very serious. As to my neighbour to the north, this drought is now biting, especially in my electorate shires of Walgett, Brewarrina and Bourke. I would like to acknowledge the hardship that people in the north-west region are dealing with on a daily basis. We came through the millennium 10-year drought, followed by several years of floods and straight away quickly returned to drought conditions.

The policy settings in this area are quite complex and, while I agree that we need a policy that encourages preparedness, the reality is that following these 10 years of drought and years of flooding it is remarkable that these farmers in the region have been as prepared as they are. As a matter of fact, there have been 18 months without any meaningful rain, and many of these farmers have been hand-feeding for over 12 months.

The government has recognised that the circumstances are severe; and there was a policy adjustment shortly after the change of government, which I welcomed. This is not solely a matter for the federal government and is vital for it and the state government to work together on this issue. I have kept in contact with my state colleagues and have offered my support to the New South Wales Minister for Primary Industries, Katrina Hodgkinson. My neighbour, the member for New England and Minister for Agriculture, the Hon. Barnaby Joyce, is well aware of the situation and has looked at measures to address this issue as one of the first items of business in the new government.

The Minister for Agriculture has made available an additional $10 million for concessional loans in New South Wales. The minister is also looking at working with the New South Wales government to implement a program for watering points on drought-affected properties. I certainly encourage the New South Wales government to work with the minister to get this program going as quickly as possible. The farmers from my electorate are resilient and resourceful and are used to dealing with the variable weather conditions we have in this country. Government can be there to ease the burden and facilitate a way of dealing with what can appear to be an insurmountable problem. I would encourage the farmers in my electorate who are concerned about the situation they are facing to contact the New South Wales Rural Assistance Authority as the first port of call. Federal government assistance is administered through the New South Wales Rural Assistance Authority. It is also available to answer questions that farmers might have on this issue.