Victorian farmers left stunned after state government unveils ‘underwhelming’ drought package
Victorian farmers are not happy with the Allan government’s drought relief package, slamming it as ‘nowhere near enough’ in a worryingly dry environment.
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Victorian farmers have slammed the state government’s drought relief package, concerned it is “nowhere near enough”.
The Allan government committed today to allowing more Victorian farmers access to drought funding, revealing a new $15.9m emergency funding package as parts of the state face the driest conditions on record.
However, Victorian Farmer Federation President Brett Hosking has savaged the announcement as underwhelming and said there was “a growing disconnect between the government and what is actually happening on the ground”.
“What’s been promised today is nowhere near enough,” he told the Herald Sun.
“It is essentially the same drought package that was previously announced just expanded to more drought areas.
“The impacts of the drought that we are seeing across the state is far more significant and they require a much more robust package of support.”
Mr Hosking pointed to recent announcements in South Australia that included funding for buying feed and supporting rural communities, and said the Allan Government should do something similar.
On Friday, Agriculture Minister Ros Spence unveiled the new assistance package, which comes on top of the $13.5 million in drought support announced last September.
The program has already been rolled out in 11 Local Government Areas (LGAs) in southwest Victoria, and will now be extended to West Wimmera, Horsham Rural City, Northern Grampians, Hepburn, Moorabool, Ballarat, Towong, Mornington Peninsula, Bass Coast, Cardinia, Baw Baw, Casey, South Gippsland, and French Island.
It will be provided through the On-Farm Drought Infrastructure Grant, which provides financial assistance to farmers to improve drought management and preparedness on their farms.
According to the Agriculture Victoria website, the grant can be used to “upgrade farm water systems, install stock containment areas or to purchase grain and fodder storage infrastructure.”
However, farmers have previously raised concerns that the grant, capped at $5,000, cannot be used to directly purchase feed or water and provides little help for areas already suffering.
Farmers have told the Herald Sun they can no longer afford to keep animals with hay and feed hitting $400/tonne.
It’s understood the new package was not part of the Allan Government’s upcoming budget and is being provided under a Treasurer’s Advance.
It comes as the government faces fierce questioning about their help for the regions, with dry conditions worsening over the past 24 months and reports that thousands of households and farms are now trucking water.
They have also been criticised for pushing through the new Emergency Services Volunteer Levy, which will hit farmers and property owners with huge bill increases, at the same time the drought was reaching peak pain levels.
Opposition leader Brad Battin has visited the regions in recent weeks and promised to do more, and it’s understood Premier Jacinta Allan this week made a commitment to the Victorian Farmers Federation to tour the impacted areas soon.
Ms Spence said the grants would help struggling communities. ”I’ve heard directly from farmers about the impact drought conditions are having on our communities – we’re continuing to back them with the support they need to tackle the challenging dry conditions across the state.”
“We’ve already supported more than 1,500 primary producers with on-farm infrastructure and now we’re expanding that support as drought conditions persist across southwest Victoria and are now impacting South Gippsland and other areas of the state.”
The government will extend its partnership with the National Centre for Farmer Health by investing $900,000 and is helping small businesses with $4.1 million for the Rural Financial Counselling Service.
Premier Jacinta Allan said the government has been “carefully monitoring seasonal conditions” and stated it was “almost unheard of to announce a drought package in May” showing the government was listening and responding to the needs of farmers.
She also defended not expanding eligibility into more areas across the state, including her own electorate of Bendigo, saying it was based on the federal drought map.
However, she said if “more support is needed in more areas we will provide that support.”
“I want to be really clear that we continue to monitor conditions very carefully and as the formal declaration process comes online for other areas we will provide support.”
Originally published as Victorian farmers left stunned after state government unveils ‘underwhelming’ drought package
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