Vinnies, Salvos tell Wollondilly farmers they ‘aren’t rural enough’ for drought funding
Farmers on the outskirts of Sydney have been told they “aren’t rural enough” or suffering from harsh enough droughts for charity assistance.
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Desperate farmers have challenged St Vincent De Paul and the Salvation Army to “come stand in our fields and see the devastation” after they were told they aren’t rural enough or suffering from harsh enough droughts.
Farmers in the Wollondilly local government area on the fringes of Sydney’s south west are being forced to rely on rationed stock from a community drought drive that “is being spread thinner” every day, despite recent rainfall across Sydney.
The revelation from farmers in the city’s south comes as part of a submission from Wollondilly Shire Council to the State Government’s support for drought-affected communities in NSW inquiry.
Council chief executive Ben Taylor said farmers were relying “solely on the Dilly Drought Drive” to feed herds, while also having no funds to pay for machinery and equipment repairs.
“Should drought conditions continue, there will be a negative flow-on effect on local employment particularly in retail and other businesses that support the agricultural sector,” he said. “Some government support services are hard to obtain and the process is too cumbersome and time consuming that some farmers give up on applying for support.”
It was also revealed that due to the location of farms and the value of property, farmers are being asset tested out of receiving assistance to support them.
“Farmers are not eligible for assistance from the Salvation Army or St Vincent de Paul Society, as they do not recognise the Wollondilly area as ‘rural enough’ or ‘in drought enough’ even though we have been officially in intense drought for 2018-2019,” Mr Taylor said.
Picton Dairy Farmer John Fairley, who started the Adopt a Cow initiative in 2018, called on representatives from Vinnies and The Salvos to “come and stand in our fields and see the devastation” before declaring farms weren’t rural enough or suffering from harsh droughts.
“We haven’t received any funding,” he said. “We also haven’t seen any members of these big charities on the ground in our community.
“We completely agree with council — charities and governments need to support us more.
“The response is too slow, too late and not enough support.”
Mr Fairley said residents across Sydney “want to help” but when they hear about Vinnies and The Salvos they become concerned about where there money is going.
“For both of these big charities to tell farmers they aren’t drought effected enough is disgusting,” he said.
“We didn’t have grass for 12 months, my herd was cut by 50 per cent — we are being hit in every way imaginable.”
The Salvation Army media advisor Steve Speziale said Federal Government drought relief funding — administered by the Salvos and Vinnes — is not available to farmers in Wollondilly.
“The rules of the funding are clear and we are charged with getting the funding into the community selected by the government,” he said.
“If there are people in hardship, no matter the cause, that is what the salvos deal with everyday.
“If you’re not in the LGA we are managing the drought fund for, we can’t help you.”
Mr Speziale said farmers could be supported through the Red Shield Appeal instead.
“If there has been miscommunication in these conversations between our representatives and the farmers, then we encourage them to touch base again and talk about the support they need.”
The Salvation Army also submitted a response to the government inquiry, raising concerns around farmers eligibility of services.
“Community members have reported receiving differing advice on whether their Local Government Area would be eligible for Drought Community Support Initiative and that the decision-making process for eligibility was not transparent,” the report revealed.
“A comprehensive guide to the various support available could have the added benefit of reminding people that they are not alone.”
St Vincent De Paul were contacted for comment, however, its submission to the government inquiry called for the government to “consider improving access to energy bill relief” for drought-affected households not eligible for assistance.