Tuesday, 13 May 2025

Drought

Roma BRITNELL (South-West Coast) (19:08): (1125) My adjournment matter is to the Minister for Agriculture, and the action I seek is for the minister to provide relief to south-west farmers affected by drought. The Allan Labor government needs to step up to the plate, like the South Australian government have with their relief package. The autumn rains have not come. The Bureau of Meteorology recently confirmed that rainfall in South-West Coast is at record lows. This is not just a bad season, this is a crisis that has been unfolding for over two years. In my 25 years on the land I have never seen a failed spring followed by a failed autumn, following a year of low rain. We have had it tough, but this is worse than the 1967 drought. The dams are dry, paddocks are bare, water is being trucked in and hay is unavailable. Livestock are being sold off, not by choice but by necessity. Families are watching generations of work slip through their fingers. Farmers are inundating me with their cries for help. Stock agents, feed suppliers and truck drivers are distressed by the suffering of the farming communities they serve. This drought is not just breaking the land, it is breaking people, and while they are proud and stoic, they should not be left to face this alone. The drought is a natural disaster, just like a fire or flood; it needs an emergency response. The minister says she has visited, listened and assisted – well, a visit eight months ago demonstrates a lack of care. Conditions have deteriorated massively since then.

So poor is the Allan Labor government’s understanding of the plight of our farmers that all they have done is allocate $5000 co-contribution grants for water and storage facilities, despite the fact there is no water or food to put in these storages. Our farmers need assistance now to keep their stock alive; there will be no food provided otherwise. The Allan Labor government can prevent the cost of milk and meat from rising if they support our drought-stricken farmers now. This government must hear the pleas and act with urgency and compassion. Our farmers need support, and they need clarity, and above all, they need to know that they are not forgotten. The South Australian government have come to the aid of their farmers who border Victoria’s south-west by increasing their initial package from $18 million to $73 million of funding. This compares with the Allan Labor government’s paltry co-contribution grants of just $13.5 million, and there is no money to co-contribute. Why are the pleas of our struggling farmers in south-west Victoria falling on deaf ears? If ever there was a time to stand with our farmers, it is now.