Joe Ludwig (Queensland, Australian Labor Party, Manager of Government Business in the Senate) Share this | Hansard source

The exit grants are matters that were part of the original drought policy. They provided for those farms that were in drought during the 10 years that drought existed in various places across the east coast and Western Australia. This drought policy has had agreement across various governments—the Howard govern­ment, the Rudd government and now the Gillard government—to provide assistance to farmers in drought who seek to exit during that period. It provides for payments to ensure that farmers can participate in that.

I will seek advice as to whether the modelling is available, but I doubt very much whether modelling is available for the exit packages because they were designed by successive governments. The policy was modelled on allowing sufficient money to ensure that farmers could exit during drought. That means that the type of assistance is not only limited to exit grants; it also provides assistance in the form of TIS, which is a payment while farmers are in drought.

The good news is that we are no longer in drought on the eastern seaboard. Western Australia is still experiencing climatic variability which has required the government to put in a trial to look at drought policy overall. But it is important to bear in mind that the government remain committed— (Time expired)