Drought Assistance

The Hon. V.A. TARZIA (Hartley—Leader of the Opposition) (14:40): My question is to the Premier. What additional support is the Premier prepared to provide to drought-affected farmers today? With your leave, sir, and that of the house, I will explain.

Leave granted.

The Hon. V.A. TARZIA: Corbin, the owner of EzyBale hay and straw, who has travelled from Freeling to be with us here today, has had his business decimated by frost and drought, with yields of less than 75 per cent of what was planted. Corbin is one of many farmers who has joined us today, from far and wide across the state, who simply cannot wait three months until the state budget to receive that support.

The Hon. P.B. MALINAUSKAS (Croydon—Premier) (14:41): As I said in my previous answer to the Leader of Opposition, I hope that Corbin need not wait that long. I am sure Corbin—I acknowledge his presence here—along with any other members of the primary production sector, does appreciate that while it is true there is an appetite for expedited decision-making, they would also expect of their government responsible decision-making, and that is what we are seeking to do as best as we can.

No-one, least of all myself, lacks an appetite to do more. We are turning our minds to how best we can do that, in as quick a way as possible, to acknowledge the set of circumstances and the need in the community, but we want to make sure we do it in the right way. That is important too. We don't want to unnecessarily hurry it to suit the needs of an immediate question here in the parliament, but we do want to do it right, and that is the work that we are undertaking.

Like I said, we had that important EMC meeting this morning. It was set to be on another topic. The Deputy Premier and I, like I said, spoke last week—or the week before last week; I can't remember—and changed the topic of this meeting to be exclusively towards drought and the impacts that it is having. That being said, there is one thing that I hope for more than anything else, and the one thing we know about whatever government support we can provide, is that it's very much second best to having a bit of rain. That is what we all hope for, particularly as we get to the lead-up to ANZAC Day.

But we are not sitting around crossing our fingers—we are not crossing our fingers. We are doing the work. We are doing the work, and we will continue to do that until such time that we are able to make an announcement, which I hope will make a difference to Corbin and any other person who is impacted by the situation.