Subjects: Drought assistance for regional communities and farmers; White Paper on Developing Northern Australia; counter terrorism; Palmerston Hospital.
E&OE……………………….……………………………………………………………
AGRICULTURE MINISTER:
I’d like to say it’s great to be here but it’s not great to be here in a drought and it’s extremely important that we’re here during a drought. It’s extremely important that we show the Australian people exactly what is going on out here and it’s a great honour to have the Prime Minister of Australia and the Deputy Prime Minister of Australia with us – that goes to show the intent that this Government has in dealing with this issue – it’s great to be here with the Member for Maroanoa Bruce Scott, Senator for Queensland Barry O’Sullivan.
People know that it’s not just people on the land that are doing it tough during a drought, it’s people in the shops, it’s the mechanic, it’s all the people in town. This nation needs a soft commodity market, it does put money on the table and this Government has been firmly behind making sure we support people on the land. This will be the third tranche of a drought package. When we came to government there was only 367 people getting interim farm family payment, now we have over 4,800 people getting farm household allowance and they were visiting us at Beef Week and saying thank you for the work we’re doing. When we came to government there were only eight people getting concessional loans; now there are 530 getting concessional loans – that’s a difference. And today the Prime Minister makes a further announcement that actually deals with the towns, that deals with the stimulus for the area, that deals with giving hope and doing the small part that we can do because we all know that in the end it’s only the good Lord that is going to give us rain and we hope and pray that happens as soon as possible but unfortunately in this part of the world, we’re heading into the dry season and as you can see behind me, there hasn’t been much of a wet one.
So, I’d like to hand over to the Prime Minister and thank him very much for the attention that he personally - personally - is giving to this problem.
PRIME MINISTER:
Thanks Barnaby. As Barnaby said, it’s not really good to be here. It’s good of the Walkers to host us but it’s not really good to be here because this is the third season of severe rainfall deficiency, this is a very bad drought and obviously the farming community suffers terribly, but the whole of the region, the district suffers terribly when the farms aren’t producing and the Walkers' farm has effectively been out of production now for two years – that means no one is employed, it means that no money is being spent in local shops, it means that the economic potential of this area is just effectively lying fallow.
It’s good to have Senator Barry O’Sullivan with us today because Barry was instrumental in reminding the Party Room the other day of just how serious things are in so much of western Queensland and western New South Wales, stretching into parts of Victoria, with this severe rainfall deficiency. Barry made the point that drought is the crisis that creeps up on you. if you have a cyclone, if you have a flood, if you have a fire, people are there on your doorstep within hours but if you have a drought, eventually no one comes anymore because there’s no activity.
And so what we’re announcing today is not just additional support for farmers through another $250 million worth of concessional loans that will be made available to drought hit farmers, we’re also announcing $60 million of economic stimulus for drought hit regions: that’s $35 million that will be available for community infrastructure; it’s $25 million that will be available for pest eradication, for weed control in drought affected areas; in addition there’s $1.8 million for rural financial counsellors – an extra 10 of them in drought hit areas – and an extra $20 million over four years so that we can extend mental health services that are currently available in 50 local government areas to an additional 20 local government areas.
So all up almost $340 million worth of help for farm hit parts of Australia and there’ll be more to say on budget night, there’ll also be more that will come in the agricultural white paper which will be released very, very soon.
I want to thank all of my colleagues who have been impacted by the drought – Bruce Scott the Local Member who has been a tower of strength, Mark Coulton over the border in New South Wales who has likewise been a tower of strength – but drought is no respecter of electoral boundaries; drought is no respecter of state borders; drought is certainly impacting widely right across our country now, although it’s epicentre is in western Queensland and western New South Wales.
This is a Government which is determined to stand by communities in trouble and these are communities in trouble because when the farmers have problems in farming communities, everyone has problems and that’s why this package goes way beyond helping farmers. It aims to help the whole community. It aims to help stimulate economic activity in the whole of the drought affected communities and it’s very much in keeping with what this Government is trying to do right around our country. We want to build a stronger economy. We believe in lasting economic infrastructure. We want people who are having a go to get a fair go. I believe that Australians want to have a go. I think that no Australians want to have a go more than our farmers – that’s why farming is a $50 billion plus industry here in this country – farmers want to have a go and they want to be helped through the hard times so that they can really have a go all the time, but particularly when the good times come again and that’s why we’re announcing this important package today out here at Longreach on Camden Park Property and again I thank the Walkers for hosting us and I ask the Deputy Prime Minister to speak to these remarks.
DEPUTY PRIME MINISTER:
Thank you very much Prime Minister, Barnaby and Bruce and Barry and the other visitors who are here who are sharing this experience with us of visiting an area which is usually verdant and green and today looks desolate and drought stricken. The pain and the hardship being borne at the present time by many property owners through western Queensland and northern New South Wales is made all the more difficult, all the more hard to bear because so much of Australia, east of here, is having a good season – cattle prices are high, world markets are opening up and there are enormous opportunities, the new free trade agreements are just making a monumental difference to the economics of agriculture in so many sectors. There’s a spirit of optimism in these industries and when you can’t share in that spirit of optimism or have no hope of taking advantage of improved markets because your property is destocked, the drought is especially hard to bear. And as the Prime Minister has said, when the properties are not able to produce, their towns also suffer, their towns don’t have the income, are not able to create the jobs that are necessary to have a vibrant community. So the package we’re announcing today, it includes as an important element an infrastructure and jobs programme. There’ll be 20 shires which have been identified as the worst affected in this drought, they will receive or have access immediately to $1.5 million to spend on local community infrastructure projects which especially employ and create jobs for local people. We want the farming employees, the employees in the towns to be able to stay in their community so that when the drought breaks they’ll be available to help and speed the recovery. These projects are likely to involve the employment of people who are engaged in drought stricken communities but they’ll also deliver lasting benefits. They’ll make these communities more drought resilient but also help deliver better services and facilities for the local community. So this is a special infrastructure programme related to this drought and which will be targeted towards those areas that are worst affected at the present time.
Now we have a lot more news coming in relation to northern Australia and to producers. The Prime Minister has already announced our $100 million commitment to beef roads, to upgrade the roads that service the beef industry which are critically important and quality roads are especially a key element of that infrastructure. When it’s wet and cattle can’t be moved or even in drought times when roads can also become very difficult to use. So this is built on the old beef roads programme of the 1950s and 60s, it made such a difference to opening up inland Australia and we hope that this new programme in that same spirit can make a real difference to the beef industry and of course much of that industry is located north of the tropic of Capricorn.
We’re also committed to a range of other initiatives that will help agriculture through the white paper, the agricultural white paper and the dams paper, both of which offer real initiatives that will make a difference for those in agricultural production in these areas. So this is an important announcement today for those communities that are directly affected by the drought. We offer hope to farmers and graziers by way of increased access to loan funds, we’re offering health and mental assistance to ensure that they know there are shoulders that they can lean on during these difficult times and we have an infrastructure programme that will help to make these communities more resilient in drought but also better communities once the drought passes. So I’m pleased to be a part of this and I think this can make a difference to affected produces and we’ve got a lot more to say in the weeks and months ahead.
PRIME MINISTER:
Thank you so much Warren and well said. Now, are there any questions?
QUESTION:
Prime Minister how will you ensure that this money goes to those who are most in need here on the land?
PRIME MINISTER:
Because it will be administered in the same way that the existing drought concessional loans are being administered through agencies that are very familiar with exactly what’s happening here.
QUESTION:
And how much of this is new money as opposed to money that was from that drought assistance package that was already announced?
PRIME MINISTER:
This is $250 million on the capital account which is new money and there’s about $80 odd million of new money which is dedicated for this purpose on the spending account.
QUESTION:
So all up $330 million?
PRIME MINISTER:
$330 odd million, that’s right.
QUESTION:
Prime Minister, what sorts of infrastructure projects will be undertaken with this money?
PRIME MINISTER:
Well it depends very much on what comes forward, but I know Bruce and Mark Coulton have been talking to their local councils in particular about the kind of local projects that would be good. I know that Bruce and other local farmers and graziers have got some ideas about where the money can be spent for pest eradication. Obviously in this part of western Queensland and through into western New South Wales and indeed into southern New South Wales, there are very serious problems of wild dogs. One of the points that the Walkers were making earlier is that the wild dog problem makes it very difficult to stock sheep on this country and if we got the wild dog problem under better control, obviously the farmers would have an option of going to sheep rather than cattle which would give them a quicker recovery option, given the lesser expense of restocking and the quicker coming into production that you get with sheep as opposed to cattle.
QUESTION:
Where will this money come from Prime Minister?
PRIME MINISTER:
Well like everything it comes from the budget, that’s where it comes from and one of the reasons why we are determined to get the budget back under control or continue the progress towards getting the budget back under control on Tuesday night is because the stronger the budget, the easier it is for a government to make sensible changes, like these changes, to help Australians in trouble.
QUESTION:
…expect any further money from the budget on Tuesday?
PRIME MINISTER:
I’m not going to pre-empt announcements that will be made on Tuesday because I think that today’s announcements certainly speak for themselves, and I think they stand on their own but yes, there certainly will be more to say on budget night – Barnaby will have more to say, Joe Hockey the Treasurer will have more to say and then of course within the next month or so we’ve got the agricultural white paper coming out which will be able to put all of this into a holistic context because we are absolutely determined that farming will be at least as big a part of Australia’s future as it has been in the past. We have outstanding, creative, innovative ingenious farmers, we’ve got good country – provided we can manage the water – and these are very important elements in a better future for our country as a whole.
QUESTION:
Prime Minister are there plans to allow businesses to access concessional loans in the same way that farmers do or to have them take part in the family household allowance?
PRIME MINISTER:
Well look every farm is a business and if we’re going to give loans to farms, obviously we’re going to give loans to businesses because farms are businesses. There will be some testing on who can access concessional loans – so it will be small business rather than big business – but nevertheless it will be very well targeted to the worst hit farmers, the most vulnerable farmers at this time. We want to give them the help through the bad times so that they can then take advantage of the good times when they come again.
QUESTION:
Prime Minister are you concerned about the rates of skin cancer in the Australian population?
PRIME MINISTER:
You’re probably suggesting that I should be wearing a hat today and look I haven’t just been out bush over the last few days and I suppose it is something that I should have packed – next time.
QUESTION:
Prime Minister the money for mental health programmes, is that to build on existing ones or to do new things?
PRIME MINISTER:
It will build on existing programmes and extend them to new areas. At the moment this particular mental health money for rural mental health programmes is in 50 local government areas and this money will keep those 50 local government areas well served and extend these sorts of mental health counselling services to another 20 local government areas.
QUESTION:
The take-up rates for the concessional loans haven’t been brilliant, are you changing any structure of the loan or the terms or the criteria to enable more people….for it to be attractive to people?
PRIME MINISTER:
I’ll ask Barnaby to add to this but I just dispute the premise because while we had less than a dozen concessional loans when we came into government, we’ve now got close to 600 concessional loans and given the geographical spread of the drought we think that’s a pretty reasonable take up. But obviously we’re effectively doubling the amount of money that’s available and that should effectively double the number of people who are able to take it up. So I’m very confident that this is a well targeted and proportionate response to this particular drought problem.
AGRICULTURE MINISTER:
Let’s talk about exactly what we’ve delivered; we now have over $270 million lent out in concessional loans, we have over 530 people, in fact 531 receiving it. When we came to government there was eight, eight receiving concessional loans. I tell you how I know they work; because when we find out an area that’s outside the capacity to deliver these concessional loans, our office gets run over with phone calls wanting to be inside the area.
QUESTION:
Prime Minister if I could ask just in regards to the arrest and the charging in Melbourne. The police have now charged a 17 year old, I’m wondering whether you’re concerned that this is indicative of groups, recruiters trying to target young and younger Australians?
PRIME MINISTER:
There is absolutely no doubt that evil people are seeking to brainwash vulnerable and susceptible Australians, including young people. Yes, we have seen in this country and in other countries such as France and the United Kingdom, boys and girls scarcely into their teens who have been brainwashed, often online, by the Daesh or Islamic, so called Islamic State death cult. So this is a very serious problem but the arrests and the raids today show that our police and security services are keeping one step ahead of the threat and amongst other things the Government is cracking down on violent extremism with additional services, targeted to people who have been impacted by it and additional programmes unrolling that we’ll be looking at online propaganda from these hate preachers and their allies.
QUESTION:
Prime Minister can I just ask, I know we’ve left the Northern Territory, but I had one question from this morning; the Treasurer Dave Tollner has lashed out at the federal government saying that it needs to butt out of the debate about the Palmerston Hospital and the contribution of $110 million out of $140 million is ‘paltry’ in his words, he says that the commonwealth needs to offer more recurring ongoing costs, although he couldn’t outline exactly what they would be, is this unhelpful to the debate around hospital care in the territory?
PRIME MINISTER:
I’m very pleased and proud that we are committed to helping with the Palmerston Hospital. I’ve discussed this with Natasha Griggs, the Local Federal Member, my office has been in touch with Sussan Ley, the excellent and hardworking Health Minister and we are confident that the expansion of the Palmerston Hospital is on track.
Thank you.
[ends]