State Drought

The Hon. F. PANGALLO (16:20): Today, I wish to speak about the Murphy's Law approach by our state government to the dire situation unfolding in parts of Eyre Peninsula and the Mid North. The farmers are calling it a drought, but members of the Marshall government refuse to use the 'D' word just yet. After trawling through the budget papers, it was disappointing to see the Treasurer has not allocated much to help some of these battling farmers, many of whom are too proud to put out their hand.

In the past two weeks I have travelled to the worst affected areas and it is heartbreaking. My first stop was the properties of Simon and Stephanie Schmidt. They straddle the almost aptly named Worlds End and Geranium Plains near Robertstown. It is a rather astonishing 15-minute journey going from the lush green acres of Clare, Goyder Valley and Burra to then come across the desolation of the Schmidts' land over what is known as Goyder's line. It is incredible that only a short distance separates two very contrasting environments.

The Schmidts are a young family. Simon is a fifth-generation farmer in the district with about 4,000 acres. He carries a permanent smile and an air of optimism. Simon's dad still works his own property at nearby Geranium Plains. They have not had any rain to speak of for almost a year and a half. Rainfall figures for Robertstown over the last 100 years show it is the worst on record. Their barren paddocks are a sea of red dust. Topsoil has blown across dirt roads. He jokes that he could grow mushrooms on them. Stoically they maintain a sense of humour, but in reality have little or no hope of getting anything of what they have optimistically sown.

Their sheep are scrawny because there is no feed. Simon's dad has resorted to using Mallee leaves. Neighbours have ventured far and wide for anything sheep can eat, like orange peel, onions, low-grade potatoes, even waste lettuce from McDonald's outlets. Simon normally runs 1,000 sheep, but is down to 140, which run freely so they can try to find a blade of grass. Ewes are abandoning their lambs. One consolation is the good price for sheep and wool, so farmers like the Schmidts are selling off stock, including breeding animals, to make ends meet. It is a catch 22 situation. It means they will not have many next year, further compounding their situation. Simon calls it a financial drought—idle, mortgaged assets soaking up their savings.

Disappointingly, they told me no government member has taken the time to take a look for themselves. During an interview on the ABC's Country Hour on 31 July, primary industry minister Tim Whetstone declared, 'I don't want to say drought until we have to say the word.' I think a farmer knows a drought when he sees one.

Over on Eyre Peninsula they are also doing it tough around the districts of Kimba and parts of Wudinna and Cleve. But Cowell was the eye-opener. Peter Webb is in an even worse predicament than the Schmidts. Thousands of acres are barren, although light, steady rain was falling on this day I went, the first he had seen in eight months. His sheep were being shorn and after the fleece were removed a thick line of red dirt was caked onto their skins.

I then travelled along what was once the Bungalow Road running through his property. So much topsoil has been windblown over it that it is at fence level, creating dunes. The only way over it is with a four-wheel drive and the experience was like traversing the Sahara Desert. It was quite heartbreaking hearing Mr Webb's story. He became quite emotional when he recounted the truck load of hay sent to the area by the children at Owen School, where they are selling wristbands to raise money for needy farmers. When I told him the state government did not believe they were in drought, he simply wiped the tears from his eyes and said, 'Tell them to come and have a look.'

Farmers like the Schmidts and Mr Webb simply want their areas declared drought affected so they can access further federal assistance and other grants for projects like the one in Cowell that will connect mains water to more than 22 farms. It is affecting their incomes and their health and mental wellbeing. As we know, there is also a drought of doctors and mental health specialists in these regions. Time is not on their side. They cannot wait for a task force to sit it out for a few weeks in the hope a saturation comes.