Dr LIM - 1996-08-22
Central Australia is indeed in an arid zone. Travelling up and down the track between Alice Springs and Darwin, as I do regularly, it is evident that the drought in central Australia continues. It is creating considerable financial pressures for pastoralists. Has the Northern Territory government applied to Canberra for special drought assistance, and what is the Northern Territory government doing to assist drought-stricken producers?
ANSWER
Mr Speaker, most members of this Assembly, and particularly those from central Australia, will be aware that severe drought conditions continue to prevail in central Australia. My department reports that 21 stations are currently experiencing severe drought as defined by the Northern Territory drought assistance arrangements. The classification identifies properties which have experienced 2 or more consecutive years of drought conditions. Members will be aware also that there are stations in the central Australian region that have been in drought for up to 7 years.
It is clearly a major drought, one that I believe would fit the exceptional circumstances provisions of the Rural Adjustment Scheme. With that in view, I have written to Hon John Anderson, the federal Minister for Primary Industries and Energy, making application for assistance under that scheme. The application asks that the federal government declare the Alice Springs region to be eligible for assistance under the exceptional circumstances provisions of the Rural Adjustment Scheme. Honourable members will be aware that we applied previously, in 1994, for exceptional circumstances funding under the Rural Adjustment Scheme and that application was rejected. The core criterion contained in the exceptional circumstances provisions relates to rainfall. This application contains detailed rainfall data and presents a strong case to the federal government for the inclusion of the Alice Springs region under the exceptional circumstances provisions.
Pastoralists in the Northern Territory have watched as other areas of Australia have been included under the exceptional circumstances provisions. However, they have not been able to access those provisions. I believe it is time that the Minister for Primary Industries and Energy came to the Northern Territory himself to view the position on the ground. In making a previous application, we invited the members of the Rural Adjustment Scheme Advisory Committee (RASAC) to the Northern Territory to assess for themselves the conditions that prevailed. Indeed, they took the opportunity to come. Unfortunately, whilst we were making applications for drought assistance for central Australia, members of RASAC decided to visit Katherine. It was akin to their sitting in their offices in Canberra, looking at irrigated gardens, whilst assessing a drought in southern Queensland or northern New South Wales on that basis. They were more than 1000 km away from the area that we were seeking to have drought-declared.
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Any assistance that we obtain from the Commonwealth will be on top of the already-generous provisions of the Northern Territory Drought Assistance Scheme which provides interest subsidies to producers to allow them to carry on their businesses for the duration of the drought conditions. Given these harsh conditions, and the low prices that beef cattle are fetching at this time, many producers have destocked to the point where, if rain were to fall tomorrow and continue for a number of weeks and the drought were to break, it would still be some time before they would be able to return their businesses to profitability. Let me make it quite clear that Northern Territory government drought assistance does not apply to the large company stations. It applies to owner-operated properties where the main income of the family is generated from the pastoral concern.
I will be inviting the federal Minister for Primary Industries and Energy to the Northern Territory. If I have to drag him by the ear to get him here, so be it. It is essential that this application be assessed properly. When the drought assistance people do visit the Territory, they need to look at the areas for which we are seeking the assistance.
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ANSWER
Mr Speaker, most members of this Assembly, and particularly those from central Australia, will be aware that severe drought conditions continue to prevail in central Australia. My department reports that 21 stations are currently experiencing severe drought as defined by the Northern Territory drought assistance arrangements. The classification identifies properties which have experienced 2 or more consecutive years of drought conditions. Members will be aware also that there are stations in the central Australian region that have been in drought for up to 7 years.
It is clearly a major drought, one that I believe would fit the exceptional circumstances provisions of the Rural Adjustment Scheme. With that in view, I have written to Hon John Anderson, the federal Minister for Primary Industries and Energy, making application for assistance under that scheme. The application asks that the federal government declare the Alice Springs region to be eligible for assistance under the exceptional circumstances provisions of the Rural Adjustment Scheme. Honourable members will be aware that we applied previously, in 1994, for exceptional circumstances funding under the Rural Adjustment Scheme and that application was rejected. The core criterion contained in the exceptional circumstances provisions relates to rainfall. This application contains detailed rainfall data and presents a strong case to the federal government for the inclusion of the Alice Springs region under the exceptional circumstances provisions.
Pastoralists in the Northern Territory have watched as other areas of Australia have been included under the exceptional circumstances provisions. However, they have not been able to access those provisions. I believe it is time that the Minister for Primary Industries and Energy came to the Northern Territory himself to view the position on the ground. In making a previous application, we invited the members of the Rural Adjustment Scheme Advisory Committee (RASAC) to the Northern Territory to assess for themselves the conditions that prevailed. Indeed, they took the opportunity to come. Unfortunately, whilst we were making applications for drought assistance for central Australia, members of RASAC decided to visit Katherine. It was akin to their sitting in their offices in Canberra, looking at irrigated gardens, whilst assessing a drought in southern Queensland or northern New South Wales on that basis. They were more than 1000 km away from the area that we were seeking to have drought-declared.
Page 1543
Any assistance that we obtain from the Commonwealth will be on top of the already-generous provisions of the Northern Territory Drought Assistance Scheme which provides interest subsidies to producers to allow them to carry on their businesses for the duration of the drought conditions. Given these harsh conditions, and the low prices that beef cattle are fetching at this time, many producers have destocked to the point where, if rain were to fall tomorrow and continue for a number of weeks and the drought were to break, it would still be some time before they would be able to return their businesses to profitability. Let me make it quite clear that Northern Territory government drought assistance does not apply to the large company stations. It applies to owner-operated properties where the main income of the family is generated from the pastoral concern.
I will be inviting the federal Minister for Primary Industries and Energy to the Northern Territory. If I have to drag him by the ear to get him here, so be it. It is essential that this application be assessed properly. When the drought assistance people do visit the Territory, they need to look at the areas for which we are seeking the assistance.
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Last updated: 09 Aug 2016