Mirabellla slams bureaucrats drought aid plan
Sophie Mirabella, the Federal Member for Indi, has lashed out at the Executive Director of the Australian Bureau of Agricultural and Resource Economics (ABARE) who has suggested that drought assistance to struggling farm families be cut.
“Phillip Glyde’s brutal assessment of drought assistance is a slap in the face to many farming families in the north-east who are battling through the drought,” Mrs Mirabella said.
“At a time like this, farmers need a government which understands their needs, not one which will take away their livelihoods.”
“I will continue to represent our farmers and fight against any efforts to threaten EC assistance,” Mrs Mirabella said.
“I have written to the Minister for Agriculture, the Hon. Tony Burke MP, to express my alarm at Mr Glyde’s comments and seek his undertaking that EC drought assistance will continue for north-east farmers.”
“Sadly, we are enduring one of the longest droughts in Australia’s history. There are some signs emerging that things are beginning to improve. I would have thought that as farmers begin to come out of these tough times, they need all the support and assistance they can get – not have bureaucrats in Canberra telling them they should have their assistance cut,” Mrs Mirabella said.
“North-East farmers are amongst the most efficient in the world, despite the twin challenges of a crippling drought and a strong Australian dollar.”
“The previous Coalition Government delivered record levels of investment in Australian agriculture and drought assistance,” Mrs Mirabella said.
“More than half the agricultural land in Australia is Exceptional Circumstances (EC) drought-declared, and water storage levels in south-eastern Australia are at record lows. Last financial year, almost 1,500 local farms received EC Relief Payments, over $32million since the start of EC conditions.”
“Instead of taking potshots at farmers who are doing it tough on the land at a time of drought, Mr Glyde should be concentrating his efforts on getting farmers through this period and ensuring we have a viable and thriving agricultural sector in the years to come,” Mrs Mirabella concluded.
“Phillip Glyde’s brutal assessment of drought assistance is a slap in the face to many farming families in the north-east who are battling through the drought,” Mrs Mirabella said.
“At a time like this, farmers need a government which understands their needs, not one which will take away their livelihoods.”
“I will continue to represent our farmers and fight against any efforts to threaten EC assistance,” Mrs Mirabella said.
“I have written to the Minister for Agriculture, the Hon. Tony Burke MP, to express my alarm at Mr Glyde’s comments and seek his undertaking that EC drought assistance will continue for north-east farmers.”
“Sadly, we are enduring one of the longest droughts in Australia’s history. There are some signs emerging that things are beginning to improve. I would have thought that as farmers begin to come out of these tough times, they need all the support and assistance they can get – not have bureaucrats in Canberra telling them they should have their assistance cut,” Mrs Mirabella said.
“North-East farmers are amongst the most efficient in the world, despite the twin challenges of a crippling drought and a strong Australian dollar.”
“The previous Coalition Government delivered record levels of investment in Australian agriculture and drought assistance,” Mrs Mirabella said.
“More than half the agricultural land in Australia is Exceptional Circumstances (EC) drought-declared, and water storage levels in south-eastern Australia are at record lows. Last financial year, almost 1,500 local farms received EC Relief Payments, over $32million since the start of EC conditions.”
“Instead of taking potshots at farmers who are doing it tough on the land at a time of drought, Mr Glyde should be concentrating his efforts on getting farmers through this period and ensuring we have a viable and thriving agricultural sector in the years to come,” Mrs Mirabella concluded.
posted by Greg Naylor at
5:56 PM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
Subscribe to Post Comments [Atom]
<< Home