Gunnedah shire farmers battling the Big Dry will finally have access to drought assistance, following a much-awaited announcement by the State Government.
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NSW Minister for Primary Industries, Katrina Hodgkinson, delivered the news while touring the Tamworth and Gunnedah region yesterday, announcing a $7 million temporary package of emergency in-drought support measures to 20 local government areas.
They include transport subsidies for stock and fodder (up to $20,000 per producer), emergency water infrastructure grants for things like bores and cleaning out dams (up to $30,000 per producer) and the waiving of Western Lands Lease payments, Local Land Services rates and Wild Dog Destruction Board rates for 12 months.
There is also funding for a Rural Support Worker to be based in Tamworth, and will work with farm families and rural communities across the New England, Upper Hunter and Northern Tablelands.
The drought package is similar to the $7.6 million one announced for the Bourke, Brewarrina and Walgett shires last year.
The newly announced assistance will be backdated to January 1, 2014 and funded through to June 30, 2014.
“It’s been good to talk to farmers face to face,” Minister Hodgkinson said during yesterday’s tour.
“It’s been a really good exercise to see just how dry it is. Dry dams, not a lot of groundcover and high evaporative losses.”
Mr Anderson said the assistance will go a long way to ease the pressure on farmers.
“This is what landholders have been calling for,” he said.
“The majority of calls to my office have been about fodder and transport subsidies and the government has come to the party on that, listened and responded to that.”
Joining the minister for the tour of the Gunnedah area were Member for Tamworth Kevin Anderson and Local Land Services representatives, including North West Chair Conrad Bolton.
They visited drought-affected properties around Tamworth, before touring the mixed farming property “Stratharlie” near Somerton and Omega Feeds at Gunnedah.
Owners of “Stratharlie,” Tom and Margot Woolaston, run a mixed farming property of 600 sheep and 1500 cattle with some irrigation.
Tom said they are staying afloat because his farm is so mixed, but he has neighbours that are in “dire straits”.
“The waiving of the rates is a big thing. There’s council rates, Local Land Services rates, all these levies on us so they’ll be good,” Mr Woolaston said.
The State Government has been under mounting pressure to give farmers drought aid, amid criticism it has not acted fast enough.
Minister Hodgkinson defended the claims, saying there is a process that must be followed.
“People need to understand there has to be a system in place because it’s taxpayers money. It’s multiple millions of dollars going to a specific target.”
She also admitted it’s been “a bit challenging” after the Exceptional Circumstances system was scrapped last year, and the new Commonwealth measures don’t come into place until July 1 – although Prime Minister Abbott said last week that would be brought forward to the first half of this year.
Mr Abbott and Agriculture Minister Barnaby Joyce are expected to tour drought regions in the near future, prompting calls for the Commonwealth to urgently release details of its proposed assistance package.
“While the NSW Government has expanded its assistance measures, there is a clear need for the Commonwealth to now put forward a comprehensive package to assist primary producers to respond to this drought,” NSW Deputy Premier Andrew Stoner said.
The new Local Government Areas (LGA) that are included in the emergency drought package are Armidale; Bogan; Central Darling; Cobar; Coonamble; Gilgandra; Glen Innes; Gunnedah; Guyra; Gwydir; Inverell; Moree Plains; Narrabri; Tamworth Regional; Tenterfield; Uralla; Walcha; Warren; and Warrumbungle, as well as Broken Hill and the far west Unincorporated Area.
The Liverpool Plains LGA is the only shire in the New England North West to be left off the list.
The expanded emergency assistance measures are in addition to assistance the NSW Government has made available to all landholders in NSW, which includes:
• ?Transport Subsidies for animal welfare, focused on stock going to sale or slaughter where there is significant risk to animal welfare, which will remain while drought conditions persist; and
• ?Previously increasing funding to the Rural Support Worker Program.
For more information or to apply for assistance contact the Rural Assistance Authority – freecall: 1800 678 593 or www.raa.nsw.gov.au; Department of Primary Industries – www.dpi.nsw.gov.au; Rural Support Workers: www.dpi.nsw.gov.au/aboutus/services/community/support-workers; and Rural Financial Counsellors – www.daff.gov.au/agriculture-food/drought/rfcs/counsellors/nsw
