Question Time

Drought Round Table

The Hon. N.J. CENTOFANTI (Leader of the Opposition) (14:21): My question is to the Minister for Primary Industries on the topic of drought. From the drought round table held with the Premier and industry peak bodies yesterday, what suggestions were provided to the government in terms of drought assistance and when will further support be announced and implemented by the Premier?

The Hon. C.M. SCRIVEN (Minister for Primary Industries and Regional Development, Minister for Forest Industries) (14:21): I thank the honourable member for her question. It was a very productive roundtable meeting yesterday. It follows, of course, many round tables we have had across the state, as well as my regular and frequent meetings with peak bodies. Yesterday, their meeting was with the Premier, the Treasurer and myself, as well as senior government officials, with peak bodies and farmers from a diverse geographical spread, as well as a diverse sector spread, so it included dairy, livestock, grains, wine, fruit and produce. It was a very useful meeting, as all of the meetings to date have been.

It was helpful to be able to reflect on the package announced back in November—the $18 million package. A lot of the feedback around that was that it was very welcome—I think they were the particular words used—and that the other supports, such as for mental health and wellbeing, the community events, the on-farm infrastructure, the assistance for hay runs, all in many ways were hitting the mark. That is not to say that there weren't further suggestions and further work to do, and that is something our government has been talking about.

Even when we announced the package we said, either then or very soon afterwards, that we would continue to monitor the situation, because it is changing and developing all the time. We look forward to continuing to work closely with industry, as we have done to date. We look forward to being able to make some additional announcements in the near future.