Subject:
Drought assistance; football grand finals; federal election.
E&OE...
PRIME MINISTER:
Ladies and gentlemen, Mr Vaile and Mr McGauran and I are here to announce an enormous additional drought relief package. One of the consequences of having a strong surplus and a strong economy is that when there is a real human need the Government is in a financial position to help and the package I'm about to announce today is another illustration of the human dividend that comes out of a strong economy. Cabinet met this morning and we discussed at length the terrible drought that is the worst on record and we have decided on an additional assistance package which is worth some $714 million over a period of some two years and this is in addition to the $430 million of additional help that I announced last week and in turn it comes on top of almost $2 billion of drought assistance that's been made available since 2001. The additional measures I'm announcing today cover six broad areas. Firstly, the easing of farmer's access to Exceptional Circumstances assistance by way of a liberalisation of the income and assets tests, providing additional support for irrigators particularly in the Murray-Darling Basin, broadening the current rural small business support arrangements, enhancing the exit with dignity assistance to help farmers leave the land where they judge that it is no longer viable to remain and giving them decent and increased assistance to do so; and also providing additional community and social support to rural communities.
I'll be releasing a detailed statement that sets out everything but I'd just like to highlight some of the main changes. The off-farm income exemption for income support will be doubled from $10,000 to $20,000. The off-farm assets test for interest rate subsidies will be liberalised through an increase from $473,000 to $750,000. The interest rate subsidy arrangements will be amended so that farmers can reapply for assistance on new debt incurred in between applications and there'll also be enhancements and adjustments to the planning assistance. The package we're announcing today will provide interim assistance to the remaining agricultural land in New South Wales and South Australia not currently eligible for EC assistance and that will apply through until the end of September 2008. In addition, the four areas in southern Australia, that's two in Tasmania and two in South Australia, currently being assessed for full EC assistance will be provided, with effect from today, with full EC support.
In relation to small businesses, in towns with populations below 10,000, and business operators can show that they have been significantly affected by the drought, they'll now be in a position to access the EC support. Previously, only small businesses with 70 per cent reliance on supplying farm products or services were eligible. That particular opportunity will still obtain but the new one I've announced will greatly broaden the category of small businesses entitled to apply for assistance. We're going to double the exit grants from $75,000 to $150,000 and farmers taking advantage of this will be able to access professional advice and re-training assistance of up to $10,000 and relocation expenses of up to $10,000. We're going to provide significant additional support for counselling services including 25 family support drought response teams, an additional $1000 will be provided to the assistance for isolated children additional boarding allowance and all rural schools will receive additional funding of up to $10,000 a school to ensure that all students can participate in important areas of curricular activities. We're going to provide some more help to the emergency relief funding and finally and very importantly we're going to provide grants of up to $20,000 or $20,000 to irrigators in the Murray-Darling Basin to implement water management strategies.
There are a number of additional ancillary measures which make up this very big package. It is a big amount of money but every dollar of it is deservedly committed to our farmers. They are going through the worst drought on record, they are living, many of them in quite pitiful conditions. A lot of their hope and that of their families is draining away and at a time like this a wealthy nation can afford to be properly generous to its hard working farmers and we will stand shoulder to shoulder with them through this terrible drought in the hope that the support that we are providing will lift their spirits and will provide them with the assistance they need to carry on. I want, before inviting Mr Vaile and Mr McGauran to say what they wish, to particularly thank the Minister, Peter McGauran for the tremendous work that he has put into the preparation of this package and the advocacy of the cause of Australia's farmers.
DEPUTY PRIME MINISTER:
Thanks Prime Minister. Just to add briefly, we need to recognise that there are around 130,000 farmers in Australia that contribute over $100 billion a year to the GDP of our nation. Many of those are currently suffering severe stress, some of them have been in that situation for almost seven years. We need this sector to be sustainable and viable in our economy, we need to be empathetic to their circumstances, that's why the government has taken the decision to announce these extra measures. If during a time of prosperity a country such as ours can't assist people in these circumstances then we should all be marked down. We are a very, very prosperous nation at the moment, not evenly spread throughout the nation and we need to be able to ensure that we can share that prosperity and assist those colleagues in the community and in this circumstance those in rural and regional Australia and that 65% of our agricultural land that's being ravaged by drought, and assure them of the certainty of the support of the taxpaying community. I don't believe any taxpayer in Australia would begrudge us at this stage supporting our farming community. It's incredibly important to the ongoing growth in our economy, but it's also incredibly important for our food security in the future. There are currently around about 23,000 farming families receiving assistance, many of those as I've said have been there for up to seven years and we need to continue to provide the economic and emotional support for our farming families across Australia. This package certainly does that. It does it in such a way that hopefully it gives them a lot of confidence to continue to face the adversities that they do on a daily basis until such time as we get significant rains in many of these parts of Australia.
Can I join the Prime Minister in acknowledging the great effort that Peter McGauran and his department have put into putting this package together to address these critical issues in rural and regional Australia. Peter.
MINISTER McGAURAN:
I should simply say that the measures, the measures announced by the Government have two major aspects that have to be borne in mind. Firstly it widens the eligibility for farm families and small businesses in Exceptional Circumstance-declared areas which now covers almost two thirds of Australia's agricultural land. Secondly, there's also measures to ensure that their businesses with which they can plan a new degree of certainty, can get through the drought and re-establish itself when the rains do come. And that's why there's funding of a $20,000 grant to irrigators within the Murray-Darling Basin, there's funding for the Research and Development Corporation's income has dropped drastically and there's a $5,000 planning financial assistance grant which so many will take advantage of. They'll be able to work through the reduced water allocations as well as the continuing dry and making informed objective and rational decisions, knowing that their families are much more secure with the assistance now provided by the community at large through the government and work towards sustaining their own businesses.
PRIME MINISTER:
Thank you. Any questions?
JOURNALIST:
Is any of it means tested?
PRIME MINISTER:
I beg your pardon?
JOURNALIST:
Is any of it means tested?
PRIME MINISTER:
Well there's still an income test and an assets test in relation to the basic EC assistance but they have been very greatly liberalised because what plainly has happened is that many farms are getting no income from the farm and one or other of the family farm partnership, the husband or the wife has had to go and get a job in town as a nurse or as doing something else and is earning income and we've found with experience that it's gone on for so long that the income test has been too tight. And it's not really providing them with a decent living and it means that when hopefully it does rain, they're so run down with their resources and so exhausted with the effort of keeping ends together that they lose hope and despair. And we think the liberalisation which is very generous is appropriate in all of the circumstances.
JOURNALIST:
Can you estimate how many of Australian farmers are going to benefit from this?
DEPUTY PRIME MINISTER:
It's always difficult to judge because of the individual and varying circumstances of each family unit and on their property, but as I indicated there's roughly about 23,000 farming families receiving assistance now. That is, if there's 65 per cent of the agricultural land across Australia is currently affected by drought, and that's just been expanded on today, normally the rule of thumb over the years has been at least a third of those engaged in agriculture normally are eligible for assistance in the packages that have been there in the past. This as the Prime Minister has said, the access to this has been liberalised in both the income test and the asset test. It would indicate it is certainly going to increase that number, but it's hard to try and forecast. The one very, very important point that we should always make is that for people in dire circumstances that I know are very, very proud people living in country Australia, they try and self-assess themselves, they tend not to get advice because they are very, very proud; we say to farming families please do not self-assess yourself. Go and see the rural financial counsellor, talk to the state rural adjustment authorities that assist in accessing this support because at the end of the day it's important that people that are entitled to this who've worked really hard over probably sometimes seven years to try and hold things together, get the support that we're offering.
JOURNALIST:
Can you just clarify whether superannuation is classed as farm assets or private assets?
MINISTER McGAURAN:
No, it's not.
PRIME MINISTER:
No.
JOURNALIST:
Can we expect any more announcements?
PRIME MINISTER:
Well this is, look whatever, if there is more assistance properly required then it will be given but let's understand the scale of this announcement. This is $714 million on top of $430 million on top of $2 billion. Now every last dollar of it is justified but let nobody say that this government has stood by idly and allowed our great farming communities to run down. They deserve this help. As a nation we can afford it and the Government on behalf of the nation is announcing these decisions. They are effective from today. Farmers newly entitled as a result of these announcements can access the benefits they are not now getting or the increased benefits they are now entitled to receive.
JOURNALIST:
Mr Howard, can I ask what the mood was like at your last Cabinet meeting for the year?
PRIME MINISTER:
Well you are making assumptions about the number of Cabinet meetings that I will be attending in the weeks ahead. I'll tell you one mood there wasn't, there wasn't a mood of triumphalism or hubris. We weren't measuring up the ministerial suites we might be moving to after the election; we weren't counting our chickens before they were hatched; we weren't arguing about positions; we in fact were devoting our time to trying to make decisions that are good for the future of the Australian people. I read in the paper this morning that Mr Rudd's minions are already arguing over the spoils of office, well the Australian people heavily rebuke arrogance and hubris and that applies to both sides of politics and you won't get any of that from us. We realise that we have a tough political fight ahead of us and we'll go on taking decisions for the good of the Australian people. The decision we took today for Australia's farmer is one that Mr Vaile and Mr McGauran and I are immensely proud of. I mean isn't it terrific that we can help our farmers. If we were broke, if we were $90 billion in debt we might not be able to help them. This is a great human dividend of a strong economy and I say to the farmers of Australia, we have a strong economy and as a result of that we can help you, and we can see you through this terrible drought, this terrible crisis and I am proud to be part of a Government that has helped create that situation.
JOURNALIST:
Did you discuss housing affordability?
PRIME MINISTER:
Look I don't normally discuss the detail of what goes on at Cabinet meetings, we discussed a lot of things, but they were all about the future of the Australian people, they weren't about our future.
JOURNALIST:
Were you surprised yesterday when Mr Turnbull took sometime to rule out a challenge to Peter Costello?
PRIME MINISTER:
Oh, no.
JOURNALIST:
Sir there was a line up of people with disabilities and their carers at your electorate office there today.
PRIME MINISTER:
Yes.
JOURNALIST:
Seemingly desperate for respite care and all manner of (inaudible) Is this a group of people who can expect a human dividend as well as the farmers?
PRIME MINISTER:
Well I am very sympathetic to their situation and it represents some of the most difficult cases I have come across in my career in politics, particularly elderly parents caring for severely disabled adult children. That's one of the reasons we put in an additional $1.9 billion into the sector and taking over in the process a lot of the responsibilities that were meant to be those of the states. But we'll continue to look at the needs of this sector, but we are committed to a new Commonwealth/State disability agreement. We are committed to an increase in the Commonwealth commitment under that agreement, we have put in an additional $1.9 billion over and above what we were meant to under that agreement.
JOURNALIST:
Back on the drought, are you worried that the cynics in the electorate might see this as an attempt of the Howard Government to try and buy the Liberal vote?
PRIME MINISTER:
No. You would have to be incredibly cynical to think this was some kind of stage-managed thing. Have you been to a rural area and had a look at what it's really like, have you been to the Murray-Darling Basin? You will know that every dollar of this assistance is needed and anybody who thinks that this is a pre-election ploy is pathetic. Every dollar of this is needed, these people are in a desperate situation and they are the heart and soul of our rural communities and we've got to help them, and we are helping them because they need help and importantly we can afford to help them. Mr Rudd went out there and talked what $60 million or something, well that's fine, but I mean this is a very big package, but it's justified. And their need is quite desperate and we can afford to do it and we would be negligent, and we'd be failing in our responsibilities if we didn't.
JOURNALIST:
Mr Howard the AFP Commissioner.....
PRIME MINISTER:
Who?
JOURNALIST:
Mr Howard, the AFP Commissioner.....
PRIME MINISTER:
Oh yes I am sorry.
JOURNALIST:
...the AFP Commissioner Mick Keelty, he's said that climate change is the biggest threat to national security in the coming century, do you agree with his statement?
PRIME MINISTER:
Well I've read something of his speech, I haven't examined it in detail and until I have I won't comment.
JOURNALIST:
You say there was no hubris today in the meeting, is there a sense of almost despair among your colleagues?
PRIME MINISTER:
No there's a sense of quiet resolve to go on serving the Australian people.
JOURNALIST:
Mr Howard, would it be un-Australian to call an election on the grand final weekend?
PRIME MINISTER:
Well there can't be an election on grand final weekend.
JOURNALIST:
Sorry call the date for the election?
PRIME MINISTER:
Well look I think you can...let me answer this question, that question in the following fashion. I will be at both Grand Finals. I will be in Melbourne for the Grand Final and I will be coming back to Sydney, and the I will be going to the, you know, St George-Illawarra, the Dragons luncheon and then I will be going out to see the NRL Grand Final, and I will be watching it and in accordance with rugby league tradition, I will be presenting the trophy to the winning team. Now that's giving you a forward account of what I am going to do and as you know I have a considerable interest in watching football, particularly the two rugby versions of the game, although I enjoy the other one as well, not being quite as familiar with it as some of my southern state colleagues.
JOURNALIST:
Sir, you've been warmly applauded at previous Grand Final appearances, do you think your reception this weekend maybe any kind of electoral barometer?
PRIME MINISTER:
Well I've had mixed receptions, as have my predecessors at football matches. Always a hazardous undertaking.
JOURNALIST:
Mr Howard just on the drought, this package I'm sure will be warmly welcomed by farmers around the country, but what do you do if it doesn't rain and is there any...I mean I guess.....
PRIME MINISTER:
Well you just keep on praying that it will, and I've said before that I make that request without any hint of irony and I renew it without any hint of irony. We are going through a terrible time, and what this package will do is give people some hope and it will tell them their fellow Australians are with them, they have not forgotten them, and they feel for them, and are acting for them in their hour of need. Now the best thing you can offer people in this situation is hope and help and a tangible demonstration of the willingness that we have to help people who are desperate straits.
[ends]