Question Time

Drought Assistance

The Hon. N.J. CENTOFANTI (Leader of the Opposition) (14:24): I seek leave to make a brief explanation prior to addressing questions to the Minister for Primary Industries and Regional Development on the topic of drought.

Leave granted.

The Hon. N.J. CENTOFANTI: Yesterday's announcement for drought funding was well overdue. The opposition is bewildered why there was such a big announcement for such a small hand-up to farmers. From our analysis, we cannot find $18 million of new allocations for farmers. We can, however, see the rebranding of some of the 2025 budget, such as RBS. According to an Advertiser article today, farmers are labelling the approach as 'reactive' not proactive and they point to the scale of the situation in South Australia, and I quote:

…$18 million is over the whole state and just in our small regions, that's about 10 per cent of the last economy...

To put it in the words of another farmer who is quoted as saying, '$18 million is possibly a drop in the ocean as far as our businesses go.' My questions to the minister are:

1. Within yesterday's announcement, how much of the announcement is new money and how much of it is reallocated or relabelling of programs already in the budget books?

2. Is the minister considering supporting a seed bank and seed swaps for farmers to get back to business with next year's plantings?

3. Noting the scale of the crisis across South Australia's regions, are there future measures planned by the Malinauskas government to further assist our farmers into the future?

The Hon. C.M. SCRIVEN (Minister for Primary Industries and Regional Development, Minister for Forest Industries) (14:26): I thank the honourable member for her question. As this chamber well knows, agriculture is the backbone of our state and I have spoken on many occasions about the importance of the agricultural industries, not just since the foundation of our state but also into our future. South Australia's primary industries and agribusinesses generated about $18½ billion in revenue in 2022-23 and provide direct employment, including associated processing jobs, of around about 78,000 FTEs. These industries also accounted for 51 per cent of the state's merchandise exports.

As I am sure most people in this chamber are well aware, primary producers in South Australia are currently facing very, very difficult conditions, with some facing one of the worst production seasons for them in many years, as drought conditions combine with other compounding issues. I also acknowledge that many communities are still recovering from recent major events such as the 2019-20 bushfires and the River Murray flood. The situation is creating significant impacts on production and farm business finances and community wellbeing, and some will certainly have a long road towards recovery.

The government, through PIRSA, has undertaken and is continuing to undertake extensive engagement with industry and government stakeholders to ensure that there is a good understanding of the impacts of the current situation as well as potential future consequences, to be able to gather information about support needs and to communicate widely about the assistance that is available.

Part of the engagement process conducted by PIRSA included regional drought round tables, which were held in various locations across the state; the drought advisory group, which includes industry representatives who meet with PIRSA regularly and provide advice regarding impacts of drought and assistance measures; and also for myself, a council forum involving the regional mayors and chief executives held last week in addition to the various individual stakeholder meetings and interactions that I have across the state on a regular basis.

Using the input that we received from the regional round tables, the drought advisory group, the council forum and various other interactions with producers and stakeholders from across the state, yesterday I announced with the Premier an $18 million drought package to assist farmers and their communities affected by drought.

The support package includes various additional measures on top of the existing measures, including the following: $5 million for on-farm drought infrastructure grants for rebates of up to $5,000 for infrastructure to strengthen drought preparedness. The rebate intends to cover infrastructure that could include water infrastructure upgrades, including pipes, tanks, troughs and dams, fencing to reduce grazing pressure, preserve pasture and protect environmental management, containment feeding such as yards, troughs and feeders, and potentially fodder storage infrastructure as just some examples.

Obviously, the grants will not cover all of those in full, in addition to the fact that a 25 per cent co-contribution is required from the producers. Obviously, this is only part of some of the work that they will be doing to deal with the current drought conditions.

We are also providing $2 million for the cost of freight for charities who are transporting donated fodder to assist with feeding livestock. An additional $1 million is being invested into mental health and wellbeing support to ensure that FaB mentors and Rural Business Support are well-equipped to provide the support needed. This is on top of the already committed $4.4 million from this year's budget to FaB mentors and rural financial counsellors, who provide free confidential and independent services that link people with the appropriate assistance.

We are also opening up a grants program for groups to apply for up to $5,000 to host community events. That is the sort of event that might provide a space for regional communities to get together to foster social connections and improve wellbeing. These are all in response to the feedback that we have had from those various fora that I mentioned.

The state government has also committed five and a half million dollars in funding for the state and federal governments' Future Drought Fund, which includes ongoing programs to help farmers with farm business resilience planning, climate tools and demonstrating more resilient farming practices.

I am extremely pleased to have been able to announce this package. One of the comments that the questioner quoted from The Advertiser, which referred to being a drop in the ocean, failed to finish the rest of the sentence, which was something like 'but it's a very important step in the right direction', or words to that effect as quoted in The Advertiser.

Our farmers feed the state, our country and the world, and I am glad to show the government's support of our primary producers during these challenging times.