Legislative Council Fifty-Fifth Parliament, First Session (55-1) 55 1 Parliament of South Australia Legislative Council published Question Time Drought Assistance Drought Assistance The Hon. N.J. CENTOFANTI Legislative Council Leader of the Opposition Drought Assistance The Hon. N.J. CENTOFANTI (Leader of the Opposition) (14:45): Supplementary: is the minister considering fodder subsidies as part of any future drought package, given many farmers are telling the opposition that they are unlikely to see significant rain prior to April and consequently feed for livestock is unlikely to be unavailable until at least July? The Hon. C.M. SCRIVEN Legislative Council Minister for Primary Industries and Regional Development Minister for Forest Industries Drought Assistance The Hon. C.M. SCRIVEN (Minister for Primary Industries and Regional Development, Minister for Forest Industries) (14:45): I thank the honourable member for her supplementary question. I assume, when she talks about fodder subsidies, she actually means actually purchasing fodder itself. As I have mentioned in this place previously, under the National Drought Agreement actual direct fodder subsidies are discouraged because they can distort the market and have unintended consequences. That is something that is in the National Drought Agreement, which of course South Australia is a signatory to. In terms of further support for farmers, given that the drought is so far not abating, we will continue to monitor the conditions, we will continue to have engagement with peak bodies and with farmers directly, and we will obviously take any future actions as needed as that situation evolves.