Wednesday, 28 May 2025

Drought

Bev McARTHUR (Western Victoria) (14:17): I seek leave to move motion 925 standing in my name in an amended form.

Leave granted.

Bev McARTHUR: I move:

That this house:

(1) acknowledges that western and south-western Victoria is experiencing severe drought, with Bureau of Meteorology data showing rainfall over the past 24 months in the lowest 5 to 10 per cent of historical records, with many communities enduring their driest 15-month period;

(2) identifies that other areas of rural Victoria, including the north-east, central Victoria and parts of Gippsland, are also experiencing significant drought conditions;

(3) appreciates Victorian primary producers as the cornerstone of the state’s economy and food security, with Victorian agriculture accounting for approximately 23 per cent of the nation’s gross agricultural output, supporting over 150,000 jobs and supplying essential food, fibre and dairy products;

(4) expresses concern that prolonged drought places severe financial and emotional strain on farm families, with leading farm organisations reporting that feed and water supplies have become scarce with financial pressures mounting for many producers;

(5) notes warnings that without additional support these hardships could have devastating effects on rural communities and Victoria’s supply chains;

(6) commends the South Australian government’s vital support to drought-affected farmers;

(7) calls on the government to provide immediate, targeted help to drought-affected areas, including but not limited to:

(a) subsidised water supply for agricultural purposes;

(b) financial assistance with fodder and water delivery; and

(8) emphasises that assistance is urgent and needed to help sustain agricultural productivity and support the resilience and wellbeing of Victoria’s farming communities.

I want to start by stating how grateful I am to have the opportunity to move motion 925 on the notice paper in my name, because this is a very serious issue. Farming is a cyclical business, and no sector is more capable of taking advantage of the good times and adapting during lean periods. But this is beyond normal circumstances. It is not a once-in-a-decade drought; it is once in a century. The Bureau of Meteorology has produced a detailed update as of this month, and it makes truly alarming reading. In western and south-western Victoria rainfall over the past 24 months ranks among the lowest 5 to 10 per cent of historical records, with some areas experiencing their driest 15-month period on record. Coastal regions including Warrnambool and Cape Otway have recorded the lowest rainfall since 1900. Soil moisture levels are critically low, and streamflows at some sites are among the lowest recorded since 1975. Water storage levels have plummeted. The Wimmera–Mallee system stands at just 37 per cent capacity, down 19 per cent from last year, and the Hume Dam is at a mere 21 per cent, a 40 per cent decrease from the previous year. These conditions are not isolated. Other areas of rural Victoria, including the north-east, central Victoria and parts of Gippsland, are also experiencing severe drought conditions.

What does this mean for farmers? It basically means that they have to handfeed stock, they often have to cart water and in many cases they have to liquidate their herds. Some are even having to walk off their properties, unable to re-enter the farming market. It is a tragedy for many families. Farmers love their animals, and they have to look after them in order for them to be productive. It is absolutely crucifying for a farmer to have to liquidate fine breeding herds and to send to slaughter the animals that they have worked hard to produce in a good fashion and for good purposes. It is tragic that healthy livestock are being shot and not even going to market. Simply because farmers do not have the fodder or the water to keep them alive, slaughter is the most humane option.

Quite apart from the economic impact, this has horrific mental health consequences for farmers, their families and the community. No-one goes into farming for this. The pressure these people are under is intolerable. I have heard reports of GPs in regional towns who are overwhelmed by the mental health impacts on patients, and that is just those who seek help. Unfortunately, there are many more who do not, and I am sorry to say that a number of farmers have seen no way out but to take their own lives. A tax on top of this crisis has been the last straw for many. The financial and emotional toll on families is immense, and it is beginning to have a serious impact on the future of the industry.

That really matters for Victoria and for Australia. I honestly think we are seriously complacent. We are very lucky to have the farming sector we have. We take it for granted in this country, but our farmers underpin something incredibly precious: trust in the quality and safety of our food. That might seem basic, but it does not exist everywhere else in the world. It is one of the reasons why our produce is in such demand globally. People recognise the quality of our product, and they trust it. Our farmers do not just grow crops or raise animals; they uphold some of the highest food production standards in the world. From paddock to plate, we can have confidence that what we are eating is clean, safe and produced ethically. This is no coincidence but the result of generations of hard work, innovation and commitment to best practice. This does include – though you would not know it to hear from some activists – a serious commitment to animal welfare. Victoria’s farmers care deeply about the wellbeing of their stock. Their animals are not just units or assets but the basis of their entire enterprise and the whole focus of their lives. When animals suffer, so do farmers. That is why it is so gut-wrenching to hear of cases where healthy animals are being sent to slaughter simply because the feed and water is not there. Not only is that an economic loss, it is a moral tragedy.

Then there is the larger issue of food security. Victoria’s agricultural output does not just feed us here at home. Western Victoria alone produces 30 per cent of Australia’s food, from just 1.5 per cent of our national land mass. What happens to farming in our state matters to everyone and for everyone. This is not just a local crisis, it has national consequences. The sector also underpins a vast number of jobs. Around 154,000 people across Victoria work in agriculture and related manufacturing, and more than 75 per cent of those jobs are in regional areas – the very areas being hit hardest by drought. When farmers go under, so do the supply chains, processing plants, local contractors and small businesses who rely on them.

That also hits the economy. In 2021–22 Victorian agriculture was worth $20.2 billion, nearly a quarter of the entire nation’s agricultural output. Victoria plays a central role in the export economy. In 2022–‍23 our food and fibre exports were worth $19.6 billion, a full 24 per cent of the national total. These exports support trade with key markets like China and Japan and help pay for the goods and services that Australians depend on. All of this – the food we eat, the jobs we rely on and the income we earn as a state – stems from farming. Farming is not just an industry or an economic component of an area, it is the foundation of our regional communities. In many cases it is what built them in the first place. It still supports them today. The farm gate is not the end of the story, it is the start. Victoria is full of towns and regions with schools, health services, small businesses and civic life, all of which depend on a thriving agricultural base. When we talk about farming, we are talking about the bedrock of rural Victoria as well as its heart.

So this motion does call for urgent action: to provide immediate, targeted help to drought-affected areas, including a subsidised water supply for agricultural purposes – at the moment there are people spending at least $1000 a day to cart water for livestock purposes; and financial assistance for fodder and water delivery. The added extra cost of transportation of fodder and water is a critical issue as well. The time to act is now – to safeguard our agricultural productivity and the resilience of our farming communities. This seriously is an existential crisis.

I mentioned earlier the cost involved for fodder imports, paying for water, the cost of lost crops or the future losses which will result from sending stock to slaughter. And I thought I probably should highlight just exactly what we are talking about when we are talking about figures for animals going to slaughter. A week or two ago the figures were: 3200 cows a day and nearly 16,000 weekly, mostly productive dairy cows, were going to slaughter – going to slaughter, not relocated on another dairy farm somewhere, because there basically are no farms that can take them. And Victoria is the major producer of dairy products. So 16,000 cows, largely dairy cows, are going under the knife. In one week 2400 cattle were sold at five markets, basically a one-way ticket to the slaughterhouse. This has already, as I said earlier, put some farmers out of business, and sadly, the damage already done will mean that in coming months and years others will follow them. On this, just in the last day or two we have seen an opening milk price for dairy farmers which is beyond disappointing. It is simply unsustainable given the situation on the ground, and if it is not improved, we will undoubtedly see many more farmers coming out of production. As I touched on earlier, it is, tragically, not just an existential crisis financially – some have chosen suicide. Farming has always had a disproportionately high suicide rate, and the current circumstances are a perfect storm. I have already spoken about the severity of the drought, but I want to turn now to why I have described it as the perfect storm.

Our farmers are facing a convergence of pressures, not just one or two but multiple overlapping crises that are compounding the hardship. In addition to the drought, bushfires have devastated parts of western Victoria. Fires in the Grampians and Little Desert regions have destroyed farmland, vineyards and even livestock. The emotional and financial toll on affected farmers is immense. While the government has offered $5000 recovery grants, a dollar-for-dollar grant, the scale of the damage far exceeds this support; $10,000 when you are investing in infrastructure in farming does not go a long way, I can assure you.

Farmers are also grappling with the expansion of transmission infrastructure, including the VNI West and Western Renewables Link projects. These high-voltage lines are planned to crisscross productive farmland, disrupting operations, reducing land values and fragmenting properties. Moreover, the establishment of renewable energy zones is leading to significant land use changes. Farmers in regions like the Wimmera, Loddon Mallee and Central Highlands have expressed strong objections. These transmission lines go right through the Western Victoria Region. They have expressed strong objections, citing inadequate consultation and concerns over the impact on agricultural land and community wellbeing. They feel they have no control over their future. Their communities are having these transmission lines imposed on them for the benefit of city dwellers, and they are paying the price.

Another familiar theme is the state of rural roads. An estimated $1 billion is needed for repairs, but funding is insufficient. Poor road conditions hinder farmers’ ability to transport goods to market, increasing costs and reducing competitiveness.

Finally, there is the Emergency Services and Volunteers Fund, which we have spent so long discussing in recent weeks. Extracting $3 billion across the state and disproportionately affecting rural and farming communities already battling severe drought is just the last straw. Primary producers will bear the brunt, with an average 154 per cent rise in the amount owed.

In summary, our farmers are contending with a multifaceted crisis: severe drought, bushfires, infrastructure projects disrupting land use, deteriorating roads and increased financial burdens from new levies. Each of these issues alone is significant. Together they constitute a perfect storm, threatening the viability of farming in Victoria. Immediate and targeted support is not just necessary but imperative to sustain agricultural productivity and support the resilience and wellbeing of our farming communities. In conclusion, I ask for the support of this entire chamber. It is important that everybody appreciates the plight that our farming communities are in, and governments at this point need to step up. These farming communities bear the brunt of all these issues, but they are feeding the nation. They are feeding the people in this city and they are feeding the export markets of the world.

We do not want to waste money. We want to see it properly spent. Unfortunately we cannot eat infrastructure, but we do need to eat fabulous food that our farmers produce. The action I need from the government is to act urgently. We cannot delay this support that we are calling for today. It is imperative. I gave one example yesterday where with the stroke of a pen the government could solve a problem – permitting road trains just for this drought period, just to transport fodder, to come into Victoria without having to offload one trailer and then go back and get it and bring that down again, actually doing more damage to the roads if you want to add up the amount of kilometres they have got to travel to do two trips instead of one. It adds almost $5000 in transport costs to the cost of that load of fodder, which is probably about $20,000 worth in itself. At the moment many are spending tens of thousands of dollars a week to keep their animals alive. The least we can do is assist them with the transport costs of water and fodder and at least provide water so that these animals can live.

Sarah MANSFIELD (Western Victoria) (14:37): I rise to speak in support of this motion before us today. While I do not necessarily agree with every single thing Mrs McArthur said, I think the sentiment underlying this motion is one that I very strongly agree with and wholeheartedly support. My heart goes out to all of those who are affected by drought currently. It is absolutely devastating, particularly for those in my electorate that I share with Mrs McArthur in western Victoria. Seven months ago I stood in this place and warned the chamber about the green drought that was being experienced by communities across western Victoria, and at the time I asked the Minister for Emergency Services what the government was doing to support people living on the land in the lead-up to what was going to be a very challenging summer. The minister outlined the steps being taken to prepare for bushfires but mentioned nothing of the drought. Well, we are no longer in a green drought. This is an extreme drought and is as much a part of the climate emergency as floods and fires. To quote my federal colleague Barbara Pocock:

Droughts are different to floods and bushfires. They are long and slow and painful.

Farmers work every day to adapt to the environment changing around them, but it is getting harder as the environment changes more rapidly. Right now we have farms that have been devastated by record-breaking floods in northern New South Wales and are being ravaged by a record-breaking drought further south. Extreme weather and changed rainfall patterns are becoming the new normal. They really are the new normal, and it is clear that adapting to farming in this changed climate is no longer something that farmers can and should be shouldering alone, which brings me to this motion.

Recently the government announced an extension of their drought relief package, which is certainly welcome, but the package covers assistance such as business support and infrastructure upgrades, and the feedback I have received from many constituents is that it does not extend far enough to cover the things that they really need to survive at the moment. This motion calls on the government to provide immediate targeted help to drought-affected areas. It does not call for infrastructure grants or offset schemes. It plainly and clearly lays out what farmers might need in terms of practical support during a time of drought. These are fair and reasonable asks. I can imagine there may be other practical supports required by landholders, depending on the type of farming they are doing on their land, but what is obvious is that this list is not about building a new shed or updating machinery. People need support to get by day to day, to feed livestock or to source new water supplies. It is frustrating that this is not already being provided.

While the Greens were able to support an exemption from the new higher emergency services levy rate for all drought-affected farmers so nearly all of south-west Victoria will be exempt from paying the higher rate – they will only pay the former fire services rate for the duration of the drought – we would like to see more areas included in this exemption. I know of several municipalities or local government areas where what they are experiencing on the ground looks very much like what south-west Victoria is experiencing, but they have not yet been declared drought-affected areas. They too need to be declared drought-affected areas so they can benefit from that exemption.

I would also like to argue that once the drought eases, which hopefully it will soon, the Treasurer must ensure that whatever primary production rate she decides to set enables these farmers to get back on their feet. It is entirely within the Treasurer’s remit to set that rate, and I think, given the circumstances we are in and given the impacts of the drought on these communities, that needs to be taken into consideration in any future rate that is set for these communities.

I want to take a moment to acknowledge the amazing and continued work of all our rural organisations. There are many, and I will not be able to name them all, but I would really like to acknowledge the work of organisations like the Rural Financial Counselling Service, Rural Aid, the National Centre for Farmer Health and the many local councils who are out there on the ground for their communities right now. What is key to many of these organisations is they are acutely aware of the impact of drought on increased farmer stress and decreased mental wellbeing. Mrs McArthur has already touched on this, but we know the toll that drought takes on farmers’ mental health. If you do not know someone who has personally battled with depression after the decades of uncertainty that farming brings, you do not have to look far to see that the statistics paint a heartbreaking picture.

Beyond immediate relief, this drought should serve as yet another message that we need to be doing more to reduce the impacts of climate change, both by rapidly transitioning away from fossil fuels and by ensuring that all of our essential systems, including food production, are more climate resilient. It has been 17 years since Ross Garnaut’s review examined the impacts of climate change on Australia’s economy. It found that there would be a 97 per cent decline in irrigated agricultural capacity along the Murray–Darling Basin by 2100 without significant global action on climate change. Yet here we are again facing extreme drought across much of southern Victoria, while the federal and state Labor governments continue to approve new coal and gas projects. It is absolutely beyond comprehension that this continues to occur. I am aware that we have just found out today that federal Labor has approved Woodside’s North West Shelf extension. This is a climate disaster. If we are going to on the one hand talk about helping out our farmers who are experiencing these floods and droughts and on the other continue to approve new fossil fuel projects, all of those words and all of those offers of support really ring hollow. We need to be taking meaningful climate action now, and that means no new coal and gas projects.

We are without a comprehensive statewide or national food security plan, which is something we also desperately need and have long been calling for. We need this to continue to produce the food we need sustainably in a changing climate. We need to recognise that we are in a climate emergency and start taking the steps we need, firstly, to avert the worst impacts of climate change by not opening new coal and gas projects, but on the other hand, by preparing for what we know is to come, getting ready for what adaptation means and thinking holistically about how we are going to continue to feed ourselves in a changing climate. Our capacity to feed ourselves, our health as a community and our ability to thrive and live long and happy lives must be the focus for this and all governments. But so long as Labor lines its pockets with donations from fossil fuel companies we will continue to see completely inadequate action on climate change and more taxpayer money spent subsidising the fossil fuel industries that cause droughts than on proactively and genuinely supporting the communities that suffer from them.

Tom McINTOSH (Eastern Victoria) (14:45): I rise to speak on Mrs McArthur’s motion 925 on drought relief. I will not be opposing the motion. I would like to start off by acknowledging all farmers in rural and regional communities that are suffering through this prolonged drought and all the implications it has, whether those are farmers across the east, the north, the west or various parts of the state. There are pockets of the state that are in significant drought, like Omeo and Benambra in Eastern Victoria in my electorate and, for Dr Mansfield, Mrs McArthur and Ms Ermacora, in Western Victoria, where the effects of the drought are far more obvious on a much larger and broader scale. When it comes to drought, a state border does not stop the impact or the effects of drought. In fact it magnifies them, particularly when we are talking about being able to get supplies of fodder or grain, being able to sell livestock or crops and what those market conditions are like. When we see drought impacting numerous states at once, everybody is more significantly impacted.

I am sure Mrs McArthur has a similar lived history over time. I grew up on a farm where in 1983 we sold half the farm and then in the millennial drought we sold the rest of the farm, so I am definitely very aware through lived experience of the impacts of drought, not only on farmers themselves and their families but also on surrounding businesses and local communities.

We know that agriculture is incredibly important to this state. Mrs McArthur noted the $20 billion in produce exports that come out of this state. We are incredibly fortunate to have pristine agricultural land that our farmers and businesses are able to work and produce from, whether that is in dairy, beef, sheep, crops, grains or various horticulture vegetables. We have such diversity for a small state geographically compared to the rest of Australia. We have such diversity in our agricultural product, and we have such high quality in our agricultural product, which means we are able to export a high-value product to markets around the world. That is something I am incredibly interested in and obviously something we all keep a focus on.

We had the first $13.5 million of the drought package some time back and an additional $15.9 million was announced on 15 May along with a variety of supports, whether that is farm infrastructure or whether that is financial counselling. I worked at the peak body for financial counsellors a number of years ago. The regional and rural counsellors are an important part of the financial counselling network. They are important to people, no matter where they live in Victoria, in times of hardship.

I am very proud that there are people living and working in our communities and supporting rural and regional Victorians and Australians in times of hardship, because while we are talking about this drought now, there are other times when other agricultural producers are hit. We have had recent wind events and flood events, and farmers are hit at a variety of times. It might be a small population who get hit by different events, but that does not change the disastrous nature for them and their financial situation at that time. Farmers are able to access that support, along with technical specialists, depending on what type of farming business they are running – support to not only deal with immediate drought resilience in the situation they are in but also to look at how they are going to get through this time and into the future. There is also federal assistance available. The rural and financial counsellors are federally supported and funded, along with low-interest loans and a variety of other supports through the federal government, which individuals or farms will look to.

I just wanted to go to the time that this drought has extended across. I was just chatting with Ms Ermacora about how it has built up over time, but it is really, really biting now. I think both sides of the chamber are probably guilty – perhaps we should have been having this debate months ago in here. It is important that we are having it now, and it is good that we are having it now, but perhaps we could have had it earlier. It is a drought that –

Wendy Lovell: Don’t blame the opposition for the government’s inaction.

Tom McINTOSH: I am sorry, if you want to show me where you are in Hansard talking on this issue – because it is not on the record that the Liberals or the Nationals were standing up and talking about this drought until about two weeks ago. So do not yell across the chamber –

Wendy Lovell: You’re in government.

Sonja Terpstra: On a point of order, Acting President, Ms Lovell should direct her comments through the Chair. She was yelling across the chamber and directing her comments to Mr McIntosh. She should direct her comments through the Chair.

The ACTING PRESIDENT (John Berger): Perhaps I will ask both parties to direct their comments through the Chair.

Tom McINTOSH: I think it is imperative for all of us to advocate for regional and rural Victorians and for our farming communities – those being the families, the farmers and the surrounding businesses. Something I am very proud of is being part of a government that invests in rail infrastructure, so we have the freight and the networks to move product around and to move regional Victorians – move people into the regions to spend money and allow people from the regions to be able to get into metropolitan centres, whether that is for study or health care. I mentioned in my members statement this morning, as an example, Lakes Entrance and the investment we have made in the new kinder on the primary school site, the $6 million for the school and the half a million dollars for the high school, ensuring there are education pathways so that our young regional and rural Victorians are getting the best education possible and are then able to come into the TAFE system, where they can get the training locally and work locally in businesses that support our incredibly important $20 billion agricultural sector. Because for us collectively to prosper, we need a productive state. We need productive people. We need as emotionally strong and well-developed people as we can be, to support each other, and we need economically productive individuals that form communities supporting farm businesses. As Mrs McArthur said, we are competing against other states and we are competing against other nations, so we need to be our absolute best.

I am proud to be part of a government that is putting those investments, those supports, into our regional and rural towns that help to hold the fabric together. I will not talk about my experience in the 1990s because I have done that often enough in this place, but when you have the investment in education, in health, in transport and in other local businesses that are the fabric that holds it all together, to keep the sports clubs, pubs and shops open, that is critically important at times like this. But it is also critically important that we support our farmers and associated businesses at a time like this so they come out the other side – so that we can all prosper, so that we have got top-quality food on our plates and we have got that export capacity that supports the entire state economically.

Melina BATH (Eastern Victoria) (14:55): I attended at lunchtime today a forum in the library on farming – thank you to the library staff, and I note Dr Mansfield was there as well – agriculture and food security in a global context in terms of a changing climate. We had two people there; both of whom I have met. One I know their family very well, Professor Richard Eckhart. He is a professor of carbon farming. The other one was a Gippsland farmer whose farm is not far from where we had one a long time ago. What they agreed on is that our Victorian farmers are world class. This particular discussion was concentrated on dairy farming, but the theory remains across our Victorian farmers that we are world class. We are mature in our operations, we are efficient, we are effective and we put quality food on tables not only in Victorian kitchens and restaurants but across the nation and internationally. We are some of the best in the world.

This discussion was about global emissions and reduction of those. We have been leading the way through our normal, good farming practices for over 30 years. That was the discussion, and I put that on record because it is really important to acknowledge our domestic use, our interstate use and our production for international markets. Our farmers deserve respect, our farmers deserve acknowledgement and our farmers deserve our praise and gratitude for their endeavours over time. What they do not deserve is a government that is not listening, a government that is burdening them further with more taxes and in fact a 100 per cent increase on a current levy, the so-called Emergency Services and Volunteers Fund.

Turning to the main substance of this debate and this motion, I thank my colleague Mrs McArthur for raising this and her passion for particularly her region as well. It is important to have specific acknowledgement that these conditions are impacting our farms – that reduced weather and weather deficiencies and the lack of rain over prolonged periods of time, prolonged months, have made a significant impact on the levels of dams. It is right across Victoria. Probably the only patch where it is not, which is unusual, is far East Gippsland. In the late 1990s they were on their knees. In Western Victoria and in parts of my electorate of Eastern Victoria – in Bass, South Gippsland, West Gippsland and stretching even further according to an email I had from a farmer in Yinnar – unfortunately some of those good farmers cannot access any of the offerings of the state government at the moment because it is LGA based, but they are still struggling.

But we have had those dry conditions. Our dams are dry, drying up or near dry. The soil moisture is fast evaporating. It is hardening, and therefore it is hard to grow grass or crops anyway. In many cases, particularly in the west but certainly still in my patch, there are paddocks that have crumbling dirt and no fodder, no grass whatsoever. We have seen these deficiencies over the last 15 months, and what does that do? What impact does it have? One thing that farmers know is that they have some controllables but they cannot control the weather – they have to mitigate its effects as best they can. What they are doing at the moment is facing some tough decisions. It was reiterated today: if you destock, it can have an adverse impact. You end up not being able to make a profit. You may not be able to bring next year’s heifers into your herd. Certainly when there is flooding of stock into the saleyards – and there is one not far from me at Koonwarra, a large one – you have the impact that the price return on the sales of that destocking back to farmers of course is devalued due to the oversupply. These cattle are not necessarily going to abattoirs. Many of them are being shipped up to Queensland and the like, where there is further fodder. But truly it is a hugely stressful time. Farmers are having to make these very tough decisions, and it is imperative that government is listening.

What has Mrs McArthur asked for? It is about providing subsidies for water supply and financial assistance in terms of that delivery of water and fodder. We know that the price of hay is going up and the price of grain is going up and of course the farmers’ capacity to turn a dollar is going down, so it is getting harder and harder and harder. I know that there are people who have been contacting me in relation to this.

I would like to make a comment about rural financial counsellors. I was at NEX, as it is called now, in Leongatha, the NEX office, and they offer a range of services and have done for many years. But indeed they are seeing more and more struggle kitchen-table conversations about how farmers are going to continue on under these very adverse conditions. We thank them for taking that load and doing those hard yards as well.

One of the things that I spoke about earlier on was respect, and we heard in a previous comment that we need to advocate for our communities. Many of those farming communities were actually on the steps of Parliament last week and the week before and out the front of members of Parliament’s offices, and various rallies have been held and continue to be held around this state. They do not feel the respect of this state government in terms of its emergency services tax. It is a tax. I have just explained many of the attributes of our farming community and the importance of them, and what is this government doing? This government is going to reach down into their pockets, which are already parched and bleached, and impose a whopping 150 per cent increase in a levy/tax. This is not advocating for our communities. This is not feeling the love for those communities. Indeed the Greens have also voted for that essential services tax, so that is not advocating for communities and that is not showing that care and that support.

I will quote something that Shadow Minister for Agriculture Emma Kealy asked the Premier the other day. She asked the Premier: why is there such a big slug for farmers relating to this particular tax? The Premier took 2 to 3 minutes to get around to it. She said:

The advice I have from the Treasurer is that the increase in the levy for primary producers is the equivalent of 0.5 to 0.8 per cent of agricultural production …

That is not a ringing endorsement for support. That was a justification for this new tax. I concur and agree with and support the Victorian Farmers Federation. They have been very strong in this. They have been working very hard to make sure that the government is listening to them and the measures that they are asking for. This is Brett Hosking, the president of the VFF, and he is talking about measures that must include:

… infrastructure and reseeding grants, municipal rate relief –

back to that topic where our local councillors are debt collectors for the state government –

water security initiatives, and dedicated mental health services.

These are the sorts of measures that the VFF is asking for. These are the things that are important to people on the land, and this government must do more. If this house is going to wholeheartedly support this motion – and I suggest that it does – it will also put the government on notice to do more for our primary producers.

Jacinta ERMACORA (Western Victoria) (15:05): I would like to start by thanking Mrs McArthur for the motion. While I am not in agreement with everything that has been said in the chamber on this issue, I am substantively in agreement with most of what has been said in the chamber so far. So I am very pleased to be responding to this. I think it is a very important issue, and it has certainly consumed me over the last almost three months now, with meetings and visits that I have been doing to understand. I have got a photo of my parents’ place, where I took a photo with the dog in April 2023, and the grass is green and it is this long. I just texted Mum and asked her to send me a picture of the same paddock, and it is unrecognisable. It is so dry, and this is nearly two months later, in May. It is still brown. There is a tiny, tiny bit of green. So we are in all sorts of trouble in south-west Victoria.

The south-west drought is now the driest period on record, and in a region which is blessed with regular, reliable rainfall, we have had no rain – although I believe it is a little bit wet down there today. We had the green drought last year, with almost no rain but just enough to put a veneer of normality over the landscape. But that is well and truly gone. It is heartbreaking to see the landscape so parched, with brown paddocks everywhere and dust clouds rising from what should be beautiful, damp, living soil. We need solutions, and I am pleased there are constructive conversations taking place both within my region and here in Spring Street. Over the past few months I have spoken personally to many farmers and heard from many, many more via email and phone calls, and I want to thank the Victorian Farmers Federation (VFF), United Dairyfarmers of Victoria and grain growers for their advocacy and time in recent months in meeting with me.

The drought is having a brutal effect on farmers and their families. The consequences for many communities and for our nation’s economy must be urgently addressed. The Allan Labor government is listening closely. The Premier is meeting with the Victorian Farmers Federation this week to discuss what needs to be done. The VFF have also been working in consultation with Agriculture Victoria to develop a drought response framework. I and my other colleagues representing rural constituents and opposition members from rural seats have spoken up, and I truly hope and believe that we have all been heard, because the reality is grim.

On Monday this week at Deakin University Warrnambool a drought relief roundtable was convened by leaders associated with the farming industry from across the district. I was able to send a representative, which was very helpful given that it is a sitting week. What we heard is that there is no stockfeed left in Victoria or South Australia. Homegrown and purchased reserves were used last season, and as the drought continues to affect greater areas of Victoria, demand for fodder is only increasing, further affecting supply. Pastures are currently in a worse state than if they were burnt out. Most farmers have spent as much on feed in three months as they did for all of last year. Feed costs now take up to 60 per cent of gross farm income for livestock farms, and this also means less money is spent on other areas of the farm. Young stock is being sold down, with farmers only keeping their core group – similar to comments made from others – and this will have flow-on effects next year, as cows already culled will result in less beef on our markets, less milk on our shelves et cetera.

Critically, unless we get the right amount of rain in the next two weeks, there will be no grass next summer – so we are looking six months ahead. There is so much certainty about the grimness of this situation right now even if it does start to rain now. Even then it will only be enough to feed stock now, not even to replenish hay stores or fodder stores. Just to be pessimistic for a minute, if it rains too much and there is no root structure in the soil from the grass to absorb the rainfall, the dusty plains will just turn to mud and then there will be floods. It sounds like ‘We’ll all be rooned’ from Said Hanrahan, but it is true. It will take at least two to three years for pastures to fully recover. Grass seeds already planted can easily be killed by frost or may never germinate at all if it does not rain.

Farmers then need to reseed, with extensive costs associated with doing that. Dairy and beef cattle need large volumes of water. Those who can afford it are carting water, but this is not sustainable. Unfortunately, there is no option to trade out of trouble. I think others have mentioned this as well. In the south-west at this point the break-even point for the milk price is $9.50. As Mrs McArthur mentioned, one of the large companies announced an offering of $8.60 last week, another distressing blow. For all their backbreaking work, farmers are literally going backwards. Production is down significantly, at some farms more than 10 per cent, due to lack of feed. Even if the milk price goes up, they will not be able to take advantage until feed prices come down. It is a cycle, and all of the feed-in elements play a role.

Creditors are also at risk, with some customers owing $400,000 or more on feed accounts. Local shops and communities and sports clubs suffer as well. This is not just a problem for those directly affected by the drought. The product produced by our farmers is critical for our national and state food chains. The south-west is a dairy powerhouse, with Moyne and Corangamite shires combined making up the greatest percentage of milk exports in the state. Corangamite alone is the highest milk producing local government area in Australia; I am not sure if you knew that, Mrs McArthur. This drought will inevitably have a knock-on effect. I will just list the economic impact: vehicle sales will be down; farm machinery businesses will be impacted; farming, scientific and veterinary services, infrastructure investment on farms and upgrades to other farm infrastructure will be affected; stockyards – no-one will not be investing in and maintaining them; and dairy machinery, shearing sheds, silos, transport costs and fuel businesses. All of those things will be restricted and reduced, if not already, over the next period of time. That is going to have a flow-on effect in the broader economy in the south-west, which will then flow on into the state of Victoria.

I want to close by also recognising the importance of mental health, as others have done in this space. We know that 75 per cent of farmers may not reach out for help. Much is being done to change that. There have been some farmer information evenings, and some are planned, which is really helpful. I think it is fantastic for so many of the region’s organisations to come together to sponsor these events and provide information. I think also it is really easy for the wrong information to head around our communities during stressful periods of time. That is a really important leadership role that organisations and businesses can play in our community, and this chamber can focus on making sure that we are accurate in what we are saying.

I want to acknowledge the amazing services of the Rural Financial Counselling Service and also say that in south-west Victoria, because it usually has high rainfall and has had dryland farming for decades – for more than 100 years – in our community, where the drought started, it has been a shock. It has crept up on us as a community. You just need to leave any town to see that the paddocks are drastic. All of us here have an important role to play. The state government and the federal government have roles to play, but non-farming communities also have a role to play. We all should come together and help our farmers through this rough time. I support the motion.

Wendy LOVELL (Northern Victoria) (15:15): I rise to join in this motion, and I congratulate my Liberal colleague Bev McArthur for bringing this very, very important motion before the house. We heard before from Mr McIntosh an absolutely tone-deaf contribution about drought and blaming the opposition for the government not having a position on helping our farmers through the drought. Mr McIntosh was absolutely tone-deaf. In fact he went on to talk about –

Michael Galea: On a point of order, Acting President, Ms Lovell is completely misrepresenting Mr McIntosh’s speech.

The ACTING PRESIDENT (Gaelle Broad): That is not a point of order.

Wendy LOVELL: Mr McIntosh tried to deflect from the issues of drought by talking about other issues, and he talked about investment in education in country Victoria. That does not help feed the kids. Yes, it helps to educate them, but it does not help to put food on the table to feed them. It does not help to feed the cattle. It does not help to feed the sheep. It does not help to water the fruit trees. It does not help our farming communities to survive drought. In fact the government like to crow about their investment in education in country Victoria, but actually in two very large and very important farming areas in my electorate the government have just closed the schools. There is the Waaia Yalca South Primary School; the government actually gave them in 2016 or 2017 a million dollars to upgrade all their classrooms. It took a few years for that to happen. They just got upgraded in 2020, and the government closed the school in 2021. Closed it – a school that had just been upgraded. What a waste of money that was. They also closed Katunga South Primary, and I am pretty sure they also got a grant to upgrade their school. The government closed that down – again, in a farming community – so they are not offering great education close to home for the farming families in those communities, Mr McIntosh.

Let us get back to drought, because this is really, really serious stuff. This is impacting so harshly right across the whole of Victoria in the regional areas. We did see a very inadequate announcement late last year from the government for some support in the south-west of the state, and we saw a few additional LGAs added to that just recently in the announcement with the drought. But in the entire Northern Victoria Region, which covers about 46 per cent of the landmass of this state, there is only one shire that has actually been included for drought assistance, and that is the Towong shire. Every other municipality has been left out. When you look at it, it just does not make sense. The government added Northern Grampians, but they excluded Loddon shire right next to it. They added Hepburn but excluded the Macedon Ranges shire right next door to it. They added Baw Baw shire but excluded Mansfield and Murrindindi. We really do not understand how the government can exclude local government areas that are seriously suffering.

The mayors of Murrindindi and Mansfield sent me a copy of a letter that they had sent to the Honourable Ros Spence pleading with her for drought support for their areas. The mayor of Mansfield says:

I can’t walk down the street without hearing the financial and economic toll the severe drought conditions are taking on the community. Dams and other on-farm water storage has all but dried up. There is a lack of feed and hay. Every community member is praying for rain and every community member is feeling the impact of the hardship caused by the drought conditions.

We are at our breaking point and after yesterday’s decision in the upper house to increase the cost of primary production through the increased ESVF, I truly fear that our community, which is resilient and has a history of getting things done despite challenging conditions, is no longer able to sustain itself without dire consequences.

The mayor of Murrindindi says:

Across our Shire, primary producers, particularly in the cattle sector, are being forced to destock due to the lack of feed and the near-exhaustion of hay supplies and on-farm water storages. The financial and emotional toll is growing, with broader impacts already being felt by rural businesses and local communities.

At recent livestock sales and regional meetings, the depth of the current challenge has been clear. We are hearing firsthand accounts of feed shortages, unaffordable transport costs, and comparisons to the early 2000s drought, when hay trucked from interstate cost up to $20,000 per load. Many producers are approaching financial and emotional breaking points.

The entire Hume region, 12 municipalities – Strathbogie, Alpine, Greater Shepparton, Mansfield, Moira, Towong, Wodonga, Benalla, Indigo, Mitchell, Murrindindi and Wangaratta – have written to the minister as well, pleading with her for some real drought support. What we have seen from this government with their initial announcements and the expanded announcements last week is support for things like on-farm infrastructure, grain storages et cetera. That does not help farmers to get through this drought, and you require them to actually have a co-contribution to that. That presumes they have the money to put in to build infrastructure that might help them get through the next drought. It might be drought support for the next drought, but it does not help them to get through this drought. What they need is real support now. They need support for transport subsidies. They need support to help them to feed their cattle, to feed their sheep, to water their pastures, to have water for their own use even – stock and domestic water – and they need help right now with real solutions that Mrs McArthur’s motion actually puts forward. These are sensible solutions that will give farmers the support that they need right now to get through this drought, but this government is absolutely tone deaf when it comes to actually assisting regional communities.

I also have a letter from a constituent in the Macedon Ranges shire that says:

I am absolutely shocked and disgusted they didn’t open our LGA and a lot of other farming areas for drought relief.

…

It’s so unfair, discriminatory and absolutely deplorable, how can they say we aren’t in drought when we have had LESS rain than many of those LGAs on the government’s drought map …

She goes on to name a couple of those shires, but I am not going to name those shires, because I am not advocating for them to get less. I am just advocating for those in my region who are not receiving drought support to receive drought support and to receive that in real and practical terms that will assist them to get through this immediate drought.

The government also need to recognise what they have done in northern Victoria. Normally LGAs that are in the irrigation district are the last to ever get any sort of drought support, because the farmers have access to irrigation water, but with the government reducing the footprint of the irrigation system – the rationalisation of the irrigation system – it means that there are many farmers that would have had access to water before via irrigation, even though they would have had their allocations reduced, that will not have access to that water now. That means that LGAs that might have some irrigated farms in them will have farmers that are not on irrigation that will desperately, desperately need help. Of course we do not know what our irrigation allocations are going to be for next season, but it is not actually looking terribly promising when you look at the closing from last year. Although most of the Goulburn and the Murray systems got 100 per cent of their high-security water, they got 0 per cent of low-security. That 0 per cent of low-security is an indication that next year high-security might also be at risk.

The Victorian Farmers Federation have come out and slammed the government’s announcement in the budget of the additional drought support that just named a few a few shires. They are saying that the limited scale of that package falls well short of what is required, especially when compared to more substantial efforts in other states such as South Australia. They go on to say:

Farmers are not asking for handouts. They are asking for meaningful recognition of the strain this drought is putting on their livelihoods, their families and their mental health …

They need support now, and this government needs to start listening to our communities and provide that support.

Michael GALEA (South-Eastern Metropolitan) (15:25): I also rise today to speak on the very important motion that is before us in relation to the ongoing drought that is affecting many parts of Victoria, including quite especially western and south-western Victoria. I would like to acknowledge Mrs McArthur for bringing this important motion in today. Mrs McArthur has from time to time been accused of bringing crap into this building, but that is certainly not the case with this motion today. This is a very important motion, and I am pleased to rise to speak on it.

At the outset I would like to acknowledge the remarks of my colleague on this side Ms Ermacora. I had the opportunity to hear some of Dr Mansfield’s remarks and Mrs McArthur’s. As a member from the south-east suburbs it was very illuminating for me to hear some of the specific circumstances and some of the specific challenges that people in the western region have faced. That has been very instructive for me. I do rise noting that some parts of my region, including the outer south-east where it borders with south-west Gippsland, have also been drought affected. It is nevertheless very illuminating for me to hear those perspectives from that part of the state. It is all too easy for us here in Spring Street when it is raining outside and the grass is lovely and green all around us to forget the situation that really exists out there. Ms Ermacora showed me the photos she referred to, and it was a completely stark contrast – rather than two months, you would think that was two years difference.

It is an important subject, and that is why the government has been taking action through the drought package. Just a couple of weeks ago we saw an expansion of that package announced, which I was very pleased to see, as I am sure all members were. I think there are a few elements of that that are important to touch on. Firstly, it did expand the number of LGAs which are covered by the direct and targeted flood relief, but it also made some changes in some of the implementation and some of the measures were also made statewide. It simply would not be fair to say that we have ignored any corner of the state, because measures such as the technical support and the mental health assistance have been expanded right across the state. I will make that note at the outset as well.

Turning to Ms Lovell’s comments in terms of region by region, although I appreciate she is not in any way seeking to undermine the importance of those LGAs that did receive flood funding, I would make the point that the government has consistently said that it will continue to monitor and update and base these decisions on rainfall data and on the drought conditions. The proof of that is indeed from just two weeks ago when, in the expanded announcement, a number of LGAs were added to that list. In the Wimmera Mallee region we saw Northern Grampians, Horsham and all of West Wimmera; in the Central Highlands we saw Hepburn shire, Moorabool and the City of Ballarat; in the north-east we saw Towong; and in south-west Gippsland we saw the Mornington Peninsula, South Gippsland, Bass Coast, Casey, Cardinia, Baw Baw and the unincorporated territory of French Island.

I know that the Premier is on record saying that where more needs to be done we will do more, and I am very appreciative of those remarks, because it is important. There have been many speeches today talking about the importance of food production regions for our entire country. Indeed we are blessed in this country to produce far more food than we consume and to be a net exporter. Many, many such countries do not have that same benefit. It is a very valuable position to be in, and it is something in industries which we must continue to support.

I know other colleagues on this side have talked in more broad terms as well about some of the other support measures that have been in place. It is also important to reflect on other measures, payroll taxes and the like which we have reduced, particularly in regional areas. On 15 May this year we announced further practical support to farmers across Victoria, including particularly in those areas I just referred to, but also more broadly as part of a statewide response. This new $15.9 million package builds and expands on the existing $13.5 million drought package, which was announced back in September of last year. As I said, this will provide farm businesses with the technical and decision-making support where they need it, right across the state. It will also provide significant mental health support services, again, where they are needed right across the state.

As part of this, already included is some funding to support a small business financial counsellor in south-west Victoria specifically. The south-west regional drought coordinator role has also been extended until at least 31 October this year, which will enable collaboration across agencies and organisations to ensure that the necessary support that is being invested in by this government reaches those most in need. We need to ensure that the support being delivered is being used as effectively as possible to ensure the maximum benefit for our primary producers. Of course these measures build on those statewide programs which are in place as well.

We are investing as well an additional $12.5 million into the on-farm drought insurance grants program to assist farm businesses in the eligible LGAs to implement on-farm infrastructure that improves drought management and preparedness. A grant of up to $5000 is also available for farm businesses as well. In some of those funds there will be some dollar-for-dollar contributions, and again, that is in order to maximise the effectiveness of this scheme. The grants can be used for infrastructure that will improve on-farm drought preparedness and better position primary producers for the future, such as stock containment areas; upgrades to farm water systems – dams, tanks, irrigation and the like; and grain or fodder storage. Indeed the rural financial counselling as well as the mental health supports will also be significant measures, not just in those specific areas but where they apply statewide as well.

I know that a lot of consultation has gone into the creation of this package by Agriculture Victoria, and it is of course an iterative process; it is not something that has been now closed off and finalised. The Premier has very clearly signalled her intention, and indeed the minister has also signalled her intention to continue to work and assess and reassess as needed and provide further support as needed. I do note and acknowledge that Agriculture Victoria is doing a significant amount of that work in terms of the consultation and the coordination so as to identify what is working, what needs to be done more and what perhaps may even need to be done differently.

There is ongoing engagement with industry bodies, primary producers, the Victorian Farmers Federation, local government, the Commonwealth government and other jurisdictions as well, to monitor the seasonal, economic and social conditions across the state, to ensure the most informed approach going forward that we can. It of course also aligns with the Victorian drought preparedness framework. We are no strangers to drought in this state – or in this country. It is perverse that we see a situation right now where just one state away they are experiencing horrific flooding – and we send our most sincere best wishes to them. It is perverse to see the dryness of many parts of this state while other parts are completely underwater, and people have lost their lives as a result. Indeed, as Ms Ermacora said, at this stage of the year, even if we were to get significant rainfall, the perversity of that situation is that we would be more likely to see floods than see grass growing.

There is much work to do. There is much work that has been done, and I do acknowledge the work that has been done and again reiterate our ongoing commitment that this is not one single point that we are concluding anything at. There is ongoing work, and I am very much pleased to see that work continuing.

Jeff BOURMAN (Eastern Victoria) (15:34): I rise to make a small contribution to this. The drought is a very real problem we have got at the moment. Mrs McArthur has done quite a good job of the motion and I am not going to go through it bit by bit because I understand there are other people that want to have a contribution after me, but I will point out a few things, which is probably covering old ground, but I will get to it. Stock losses are becoming a problem – not necessarily from starvation, but because farmers are no longer able to look after their entire flocks, so they are starting to cull them. I am old enough to remember the 1980s, when this first started happening, and the images of farmers having to shoot their sheep and just crying, because despite what some people think, they are not just a source of income. There were some realities of life, and still, despite that, they were quite unhappy. That stuck with me. I was living in the Wimmera, north-central Victoria, at the time and saw what the drought was like. The reality of living in it is lost on a lot of people in Melbourne. We might have to have water restrictions so we cannot wash our car, we have to be careful about taking baths and all that sort of stuff, but there are people who are having to truck their potable water in, and if you cannot afford that, you kind of have a problem. The government has been giving assistance – I think it was $13 million and then $15 million recently – but South Australia, as no doubt has been covered before, with less people, has got quite a lot more. I urge the government to step it up and help these people. It can help them with water. It can help them with feed for their animals.

There are some ironies to this. Parts of Gippsland are not in drought, other parts of Gippsland are in serious drought and other parts of Gippsland are going to be in drought. So it also brings to the fore questions of what is a declared drought and what help we can give to people before it becomes a declared drought and their backs are to the wall. I note that it has been put to me that parts of Baw Baw, La Trobe and areas like the town of Benambra are suffering greatly, while not too far from that it is raining, but that does not stop them from needing help. That does not stop them from needing some assistance before it gets to the point of no return, and that brings mental health issues and all that sort of stuff.

Rural people, particularly farmers, have always suffered a lot from the vagaries of economies. If people do not want to buy their particular food, then their income drops, and all this changes from year to year. The price of something goes up and down and they do not know what they are going to get, so there is always a mental problem of not knowing what will come next year. Now we have just added a drought amongst geopolitical concerns and all those sorts of things. So mental health help is critical and its intervention at some points. I mentioned this years ago: one of my earliest recollections of the problems of mental health in regional areas was when a friend of ours suicided out of the blue. When I look back at it – I was a young teenager at the time – I still do not understand why she did it, but as time goes on you look and you can see stresses that are coming from here and stresses that are coming from there, and at some point in time it gets too much for some people. What I want is help for these people before it becomes critical.

So I applaud Mrs McArthur for bringing this motion. I obviously support it. I would like the government to spend a bit more time with the people that are pre-drought, for want of a better term, so that when it does become a drought it is not just that they have lost nearly everything and they are going to go under, but that they are in a position where they can keep it at least floating along until the drought breaks.

Renee HEATH (Eastern Victoria) (15:39): I rise to support this motion because it recognises not just the economic cost of drought but the deeply human cost associated with it. In the few minutes that I have I just want to put on record that for the past 25 months Gippsland and parts of eastern Victoria have been gripped by one of the harshest dry spells in living memory. The BOM confirms it: record low rainfall. It has been drier than in 90 to 95 per cent of years since records began in 1990. As Mr Bourman just said, it is not all areas of Gippsland, but some are so severe. This morning my office spoke to Karen McLennan from GippsDairy, and she said at least 240 farms across greater Gippsland are now in serious trouble:

[QUOTE AWAITING VERIFICATION]

Current support helps a little, but it misses the heart of the issue. For the 20 farms already out of water a subsidy for a new tank means nothing if we cannot afford water to put in it.

Farmers are not asking for handouts. I have heard a lot of people say that in this chamber today. What they are asking for is fair support. The government have said they are doing this and they are doing that. What they have done has not even been a drop in the bucket. Practical, fast-tracked assistance is needed to help farmers survive this drought with dignity and so there is still a future for them, their family and their farms. They need subsidised water for crops and livestock. They need financial help with fodder and transport. They need energy cost relief, especially for irrigation and storage, and they need mental health support to carry the emotional load, because this is beyond what a lot of people have seen in decades.

I want to share, in the time that I have, that I was at a GippsDairy meeting in Inverloch the other night. A bunch of farmers shared their stories about how they did not have warning about this, that government systems failed. The Bureau of Meteorology did not predict this. It did not give them the warning to prepare what they needed to for this dry period, and now they are just in terrible trouble. One of the speakers said, ‘If we do not get significant rainfall within the next month or two,’ and he paused and said, ‘we are in serious trouble.’

These farmers do not know what the future holds, and this is in an area that is just up in the country. When farms suffer, every single Victorian suffers, because every one of us relies on them. It increases the cost of living for every single Victorian, because if there is no water for farms and there is no food, that is going to hit the grocery shelves. It is not something that is out of sight or out of mind. I want to thank the incredible farmers for what they do for us, and I want to acknowledge that we need proper support, and we need it given soon. I want to thank Mrs McArthur for bringing this important and timely motion. I commend it to the house.

Bev McARTHUR (Western Victoria) (15:42): At the outset I want to say how pleased I am that the government, Dr Mansfield and the Greens and Mr Bourman from the Shooters, Fishers and Farmers Party are supporting this motion. But support for a motion is not enough. What we need now is for the minister and the government to be on notice that they urgently have to move forward with what we will pass shortly, which is subsidies for water supply and subsidies for transport of water and fodder supply. That is what we are specifically asking for here; that is what the government must supply as we move out of this chamber today. They have to move forward, recognising that this chamber has passed this motion. We do not want to just say we have ticked a box and passed a motion and said nice things. We want action. Action means putting money on the table to help these farmers who are desperately in need.

Dr Mansfield reiterated what support is required, and much of the support that the government has given does not even touch the surface. The exemptions for farmers from the new tax also do not help, because you have got to have spent money on a drought package to be eligible for relief from the levy. It is all capped, and it does not even help in the slightest.

Mr McIntosh referred to the fact that we have not referenced drought here for a while. I can tell him that on 4 March I did just that. I called for help with the culling of kangaroos. If there is anything left on these farms, the kangaroos are eating it. They are drinking the water that many farmers are having to pay to supply, and they are wrecking all the fences. The kangaroo population explosion as they move into these areas is immense. The drought has been raised, Mr McIntosh, for your benefit. Ms Bath referred to the loss of breeding stock. That means that going forward, in the years going ahead, there will be no income for these farmers. If they lose their breeding stock, they lose their ability to farm. Ms Ermacora reminded us of the importance of the Corangamite shire, and as a former councillor I am pleased she did. It is a very important area, producing the most milk in this country. Ms Lovell referred to the need for funding now and not just more infrastructure grants. These farmers do not have the money to do dollar-for-dollar grant matching from the government. And really, where would $10,000 go in any case? You would be lucky to get a few metres of fencing and a fraction of a dam dug out. Mr Galea made reference to fertiliser. Now, I welcome Mr Galea for a visit. Come down to our farm, Mr Galea, and you can bag up, package up, any amount of fertiliser you would like – because that is all that is left on our farm. We just have dirt and dust and fertiliser, and you are most welcome to it. It will make your roses grow beautifully, Mr Galea.

Mr Bourman and Dr Heath referred to the human cost that is involved in all this. It is significant. We have referred to it. We do not like having to refer to it, but in the end with drought, combined with the many other increased input costs that farmers are enduring, whether it is rates increases, interest rate increases, increased costs of inputs of fertiliser but also this extraordinary cost of trying to feed and water animals that will die if they do not bring in extra fodder and water, it is immense. It is sometimes the last straw for a farmer as they go out to shoot some dying stock – that there is nothing left. They feel helpless. They feel nobody is listening to them. But right now this government has the chance to listen and act. I look forward to the minister and the government acting on this motion and providing these subsidies that we have called for.

Motion agreed to.