Senator Fiona Nash

Canberra seriously misguided on farm recovery

Nationals Senator Fiona Nash said the federal Labor government is clueless to the hardship that flood affected farmers are experiencing.  

Senator Nash recently met with rural community representatives including farmers, a rural support worker, community nurse, pastoral workers and the local mayor at Corowa in southern NSW who are concerned that Exceptional Circumstances assistance will not be continued.

The government’s decision not to extend the assistance affects many farmers in NSW and Victoria who were hard hit by the summer floods and excessive rains.

“Grain and fruit crops were lost or downgraded and there have been livestock losses from drowning, fly strike and other infection,” Senator Nash said.

Senator Nash was told at the meeting there are farmers still trying to harvest last year’s crop while others cannot get machinery onto parts of their property so that they can prepare to sow this year’s crop.

“They are understandably nervous that further rain could stop them from putting a crop in, pushing them further into debt,” she said.

The loss to agriculture from the floods in NSW, Victoria and Queensland is at least $5 billion. In NSW alone, it’s understood almost half of the 2.8 million hectare wheat crop was downgraded due to weather damage – an $850 million loss for the 2010 grain harvest.

Senator Nash said the National Rural Advisory Council (NRAC), that assesses EC declared areas, acknowledged high stress levels among farmers yet recommended the assistance stop.

NRAC states in its assessments for the Riverina and Young EC declared areas: “While outside the scope of the EC review guidelines, NRAC has concerns about the high levels of stress it observed among some producers in the area. After several years of dry conditions, crop producers were expecting an excellent return from the 2010 winter crops. However, delays to harvesting and downgrading of winter crops due to the wet finish to the season is likely to result in lower yields and returns than those expected prior to harvest.” It makes similar statements on the hardship experienced by farmers in other flood affected areas.

“This is an understatement. My concerns about the emotional toll this is having on our farmers were further compounded when told of mental health issues the Riverina alone,” Senator Nash said. “I have no doubt that these issues are much more widespread.

“The reality is that it will take many months for farmers to fully recover from nearly a decade of drought, and now the floods.

In a letter to the federal agriculture minister, Senator Joe Ludwig, Senator Nash said a `wet drought’ from heavy rains should be considered as `exceptional circumstances’. She has also written to Prime Minister Gillard and the Minister for Regional Australia, Simon Crean.

“The gross value of Australian farm production is $41.8 billion a year. Our farmers produce almost 93 per cent of Australia’s domestic food supply, and the agriculture sector employs 1.6 million Australians or 17.2 per cent of the workforce. Add to that the taxes farmers pay in their lifetime, I’d say they’ve well and truly earned the right to some help when it’s needed,” she said.