Drought

Mr PEDERICK (Hammond) (15:19): I rise today to talk about the, I think, bigger than once-in-a-lifetime drought; in fact, I think it is probably the biggest drought and frost experience combined that we have had for over a hundred years. I say that because in one farm's reading from 1914 for the whole year their rainfall was 230 millimetres, and to date this year they have only received 140 millimetres. It is just shocking what is happening right across the state, right across to the Western Australian border, cutting through all parts of the West Coast on Eyre Peninsula, through the Upper North and the Mid North. They are really struggling up there.

I noted in the paper on the weekend that there was a bloke I went to school with, Andrew Kitto, talking about the effect at Gladstone where he is dealing with not only the effect of drought on his property but the fact that he will only contract harvest for five farmers instead of 20, which will be a huge income loss for him towards the end of the year. People are seeing the effects of this day by day as there is no rain and there is no feed for stock. As I said, this is right across the state: the Mid North, around central South Australia, through the upper South-East, through the Mallee, the northern Mallee, the southern Mallee and down to the South-East. Even Naracoorte has had a hay run recently to support growers in that area.

They are just appalling conditions that have happened. As I indicated earlier today, if it was not for the modern farming methods, we would not be seeing the green drought that we are seeing now: we would have seen sand blocking the Mallee highways and blocking other highways throughout the state. People are having to make some terrible decisions. They are having to quit breeding stock, whether that be cattle or sheep, stock that they have bred up over many years using bulls and rams, heifers and ewes, to get their breeding stock to a certain level.

They have to work out, 'Do we keep quitting more lambs or do we sell their mothers, which we will never get back because they are essentially going to the abattoirs?' Some very tough decisions are being made. It is not only that but trying to get access to feed. It is not just the ability to access feed but it is what you have to pay for feed. I note there is another hay run coming with Aussie Hay Runners around my electorate and into parts of MacKillop as well, around Tailem Bend, Murray Bridge, Callington, Mannum and surrounding districts. That will certainly be welcome. To see the damage around the place, and certainly I have mentioned it here before, and at my place—I have never seen stem frost damage like it.

When the bloke who leases my farm puts 80 feet of wheat into a row, you can barely see what is in that row. It was the only way he could do it. If he cut it with a mower and he went to rake it, he would probably lose it out of the mower. There has not been enough growth to get any substantial crop. So some farmers have let the sheep in on the crops. Some people have bean crops and lentil crops they will barely be able to get the header front under to get whatever pods are there to harvest. I know one local farmer has cut about 1,100 acres of canola for hay. They are baling that pretty well as we speak. It is just unbelievable what has been happening.

I just want to comment on the community support, where people are getting together so they can have that mental health support. I note there was one recently in the Mid North and there would be others around the state that I am not aware of. These are vital—vital for men and women who essentially can feel very isolated at times. They need to get together to acknowledge that everyone is in the same boat.

The banks need to step up. I note the government sound keen to step up, and we are very interested to see their response, but the banks need to show massive support for a lot of farmers who did not get much of an income, if any income, last year. This year, they are going to go backwards, and they are going to need to borrow a heck of a lot of money next year and increase overdrafts to keep going. They have closed the chequebooks; it is having a huge effect on other companies like machinery dealers, for a start, and then right through the community.

I just want to acknowledge Daniel and Emily Morgan. This Saturday night they are having a get-together for local farmers out the back of Peake and from my understanding there will be about 150 farmers there and myself and Mayor Paul Simmons, who will be there to give that moral support, so that we can literally keep people going.