HANSARD
SITTING CALENDAR
SEARCH
LIVE BROADCAST
Hansard Dynamic Subject Index
House of Assembly - Fifty-Third Parliament, Second Session (53-2)
2015-06-18 Daily Xml
Contents
Pdf Xml

Drought Concessional Loans

Mr PEDERICK (Hammond) (14:29): My question is to the Minister for Agriculture, Food and Fisheries. How many South Australian farmers have had a drought concessional loan approved? In Victoria, 90 per cent of assessed applications for drought concessional loans to date have been approved.

The Hon. L.W.K. BIGNELL (Mawson—Minister for Agriculture, Food and Fisheries, Minister for Forests, Minister for Tourism, Minister for Recreation and Sport, Minister for Racing) (14:29): This was a matter that was raised at the ministerial forum just a few weeks ago in Sydney with the federal Minister for Agriculture, Barnaby Joyce, and other state and territory ministers who all share the concern that probably not enough people in any of the states are getting the sort of loans through that are being offered. There are a number of different reasons for that.

We are looking at other states and territories to see if there is anything that's being done differently here than in the other states. At this stage, it doesn't appear so, although Victoria does do one part of the process before a second stage, which is in reverse to what we and the other states and territories do.

We want as many people to get that funding as possible and so does the federal minister, so he is having his department have a look. It's the federal government that provides the money, it's the federal government that sets the rules of handing out that money, and it's up to the individual states and territories to administer that.

Minister Joyce and myself are keen to make sure that as many farmers as possible can get that money, but what we also know is that one of the things that you have to be able to do is prove that you have a business case where that money can be repaid, which involves you going to your banks. In many instances, we understand that, when the banks sit down with the farmers, they say, 'We can actually match the conditions and the interest rates that are being offered in the government concessional loan.' So, in many cases, people don't go on with their application, and they accept a deal put to them by their banks.

The banks are happy because they get to keep a farm customer, and the farmers are happy because they are getting exactly the same deal that would have been offered by the concessional loan scheme for the assistance. I think we are seeing some people who aren't entering into the drought loan assistance scheme because they are actually staying with their banks who are matching the deal that we put on offer.

The SPEAKER: A supplementary, member for Hammond.

PARLIAMENTARY BUSINESS
MEMBERS
GET INVOLVED
ABOUT PARLIAMENT
VISIT
LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL
HOUSE OF ASSEMBLY
CONTACT