CONCESSIONAL loans and cash on the table for dairy farmers in crisis across the nation was announced by Agriculture Minister Barnaby Joyce in a $600 million package this morning.
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The member for New England made the hallmark announcement at a dairy farm about 15km North West of Tamworth were he vowed to get the dairy industry back on its feet in a multi tiered show of Government support.
The Minister announced a $600 million dollar care package for struggling dairy farmers, with $555 million of this allocated to concessional loans with an interest rate of 2.66% from August 1.
Farmers and their families will also have access to up to $1000 a fortnight through a farming household allowance and about $900,000 dollars was allocated to one on one counselling and mobile mental health assistance.
While the announcement was made far away from where the real problems are, Minister Joyce said $60 million in joint funding between the Federal, Victorian Government and Victorian Farmers was allocated to allocated to the Macalister irrigation district, to upgrade existing infrastructure.
An additional $2 million will also be invested in tracking dairy products and prices throughout the globe for better planning at home.
"We have a crisis in the dairy industry, especially n the southern part of our nation," Mr Joyce said.
"(The) Announcement will try and alleviate some of those issues that they're dealing with.
"All these things are going to hopefully assist farmers to get to the other end of this crisis and this crisis will come to an end because there is no global downturn of dairy consumption, there is an oversupply in Europe and that will wash through the system and we'll make sure that Australia's Dairy Farmers are there, not just for our nation but also for exports to other countries."
Minister Joyce called on retailers to put their "shoulder to the wheel' when it came to milk prices.
"It is an absurdity that we have a dollar a litre milk and we have water that's dearer, the fact that people go into a shop and say water is dearer than milk is an insult.
"We want to make sure we call on the retailers do do the right thing, it's just garbage to have milk that cheap and let's do the right thing that we can keep good, decent and honesty people like this (dairy farmers) on the farm."
