Page 3297 - Week 09 - Wednesday, 21 August 2019
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ACT government has, yet again, dropped the ball when it comes to support for our drought-affected farmers.
I was, however, pleased that the package was met last year. Not long after my calls and those of the opposition, the ACT government put in place drought relief measures that included infrastructure assistance as well as a 50 per cent freight subsidy, which was based on the model that was on offer over the border in New South Wales. However, the New South Wales government has continued this subsidy in light of the conditions continuing across the border, yet the ACT scheme lapsed at the beginning of July this year.
It is important that we are in sync with New South Wales on this vitally important assistance package. The ACT Rural Landholders Association called upon the government to ensure that the off-farm assets threshold was increased as part of the previous model and that more access to the subsidies was available for more farmers. This was a welcome move and a necessary one, given the peculiarities of the ACT agricultural sector.
Whilst our farm businesses are small in stature, in the larger marketplace it is even more necessary for them to compete on a level playing field. ACT farmers have to buy and sell in the same marketplace as those being offered support and subsidies in New South Wales, and it is only fair that they compete on a level playing field, particularly as the drought conditions fail to improve and the need for a freight subsidy is becoming ever more prevalent for so many rural leaseholders.
I would like to thank those that have taken the time to speak with me about their experience as they have travelled through the dry period. Many farmers have taken some very drastic decisions to manage both their business and to care for and look after the welfare and best interests of their livestock during this period.
Many properties have had significant destocking of either their cattle or sheep, depending on which area of agriculture they are involved in. I am aware of one property where close to 40 per cent of their stock have been destocked and either sold on to other properties that are in better conditions or sent to market. A number of leaseholders have been fortunate enough to date to have been able to manage their stock loading on their property and avoid the need so far to use the freight subsidy and the need to purchase feedstock from interstate, often from destinations as far away as Victoria or South Australia. As members can imagine, there is a significant cost in transporting that to the ACT and there is also a significant scarcity in being able to find feedstock for purchase.
For those who have had to make the decision, or are facing making this decision in the coming weeks or months, it is important that they can do so assured that there is some assistance on hand from not just the government but the government on behalf of the whole community to help them through this tough period.
It is also important that the subsidy is in line with what is on offer in New South Wales, which is a 50 per cent subsidy of transportation costs, as businesses in the ACT also need to compete with those in New South Wales. They are selling their
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