HUNTER Valley farming communities will be forced to wait up to a year to see any benefit from the coalition government's Future Drought Fund, according to Shadow Minister for Agriculture Joel Fitzgibbon.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
The Future Drought Fund was announced in October 2018 by Prime Minister Scott Morrison and its $90 million foundation resilience program was detailed on July 1, revealing programs that would not take effect until July of 2021.
"The fund is supposed to be helping drought-affected farmers prepare for a future of drought, but these programs demonstrate a real lack of urgency," the Hunter MP said.
"The legislation for the Future Drought Fund was passed almost a year ago and, last week, farmers learned that there will be further delays before the money and benefits flow."
Now, as details of the Future Drought Fund are released by the Agriculture Department, it is clear the digital projects - the Drought Resilience Self-Assessment Tool and Climate Services for Agriculture Program - will not have their first versions rolled out until this time next year.
It has also been revealed that the Natural Resources Management Drought Resilience Program - Landscapes, the Natural Resources Management Drought Resilience Program - Grants, and the Drought Resilience Research and Adoption programs will not take effect until early 2021.
The Networks and Leadership programs will have to wait until September of this year, and the Department and Agriculture Minister David Littleproud are unable to give farmers a timeline as to when the $20 million in Farm Business Resilience and $10 million in Regional Drought Resilience Planning programs will be available.
"We have areas of Australia that despite some good rains earlier this year, are back in drought," Mr Fitzgibbon said.
"There are farmers who were looking for some urgency and practical help from this Future Drought Fund.
"These programs have not been widely applauded by farmers, because they don't offer practical help.
"But, to delay the available benefits, after almost one year since it passed the Parliament, is a slap in the face to those drought-affected areas needing help from the government."
Mr Fitzgibbon said the Future Drought Fund - which passed with the support of Labor in 2019 - took $3.9 billion from the Labor Government's Building Australia fund, a commonwealth fund tasked with building roads and bridges in regional Australia.
"The Liberal Government took practical, tangible funding away from the regions and replaced it with a fund that is financing consultants and farmer leadership organisations," he explained.
"Farmers are underwhelmed by this Future Drought Fund.
"And, now, they discover they have to wait up to a year for anything to happen.
"It's disappointing Minister Littleproud waited until after the Eden-Monaro by-election to announce the delay."
