Scott Morrison boosts Farm Household Allowance

Scott Morrison has bolstered the Farm Household Allowance days after he clashed with radio host Alan Jones over drought assistance.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison jumps off a ute during a visit to a drought-affected property near Dalby, Queensland, in September.

Scott Morrison has bolstered assistance payments to struggling farmers as he comes under pressure over the government’s response to the drought.

The Prime Minister on Thursday morning announced plans to give farmers lump-sum payments when they reach the four-year cap on the Farm Household Allowance payment.

Couples will receive $13,000 when they reach the four-year limit of the allowance, while singles will receive $7500.

“What we are doing today in the parliament, when people get to the end of their four years of that Farm Household Allowance, they will get an additional payment of $13,000 for couples and $7,500 (for singles),” Mr Morrison told 2SM radio’s John Laws.

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Labor and farming groups were calling for the cap on the $489 fortnightly payment to be lifted until the drought ends, after The Weekend Australian revealed nearly 600 farmers had been kicked off the allowance in the past two years.

Mr Morrison on Tuesday faced criticism for his handling of the drought in a combative interview with 2GB broadcaster Alan Jones.

Agriculture Minister Bridget McKenzie said the move built on the government’s decision to increase access to the allowance from three years in their lifetime to four years out of every 10.

“Today, the government introduces a bill to provide drought relief for those who have exhausted their four years on FHA,” Senator McKenzie said. “The bill will allow for farmers to receive the FHA payment four years in every decade; make it easier for more farmers to access the payment by lifting the amount families can earn off-farm to $100,000 a year; and allow farmers to count income from agistment against their losses.

“These changes reflect the nature of contemporary farming businesses – by recognising the reality that much of the income earned off-farm goes straight to servicing debt rather than putting food on the table.”

Radio broadcaster Alan Jones (left) and Prime Minister Scott Morrison clashed this week over drought assistance.

On 2GB radio on Tuesday, Jones called on the government to step-up its response to the “national disaster”, challenging him to bankroll farmers struggling to keep breeding stock alive.

“Why don’t you take over the whole show? It’s a national disaster. You say Farm Household Allowance, come on, you go and tell Jenny she can live on $250 a week,” Jones said.

“It’s not $250 a week Alan. It’s not just that,” Mr Morrison told Jones.

Opposition agriculture spokesman Joel Fitzgibbon slammed Mr Morrison’s extra funds for farmers as “not good enough”.

Mr Fitzgibbon said the lump sum payments for people who are coming off the Farm Household Allowance amounted to an extra six months on the assistance payment.

Mr Fitzgibbon said Labor would support the measure but demand the four-year time limit on the allowance be lifted during the drought.

“What the Prime Minister announced this morning is that desperate farming families coming off Farm Household Allowance will have an additional six months of allowance. That means that farming families coming off Farm Household Allowance, will not come off after fours years but four-and-a-half years,” Mr Fitzgibbon said.

“What we know already is 600 farming families have had their payment cut off and by Christmas that is more likely to be 1100 farming families, almost double the number that has already been taken off.

“It is a callous act, in fact the greatest act of bastardry by any government in the history of federation, to be taking our most desperate drought stricken families off the modest Farm Household Allowance payment. It is not good enough Prime Minister to extend the payment by six months.”

On Wednesday Mr Fitzgibbon urged Mr Morrison to form a “war cabinet” with Anthony Albanese to tackle the drought, declaring the “national emergency” was starting to become a food security issue.