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Legislative Council - Fifty-Fifth Parliament, First Session (55-1)
2025-09-02 Daily Xml
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Drought Assistance

The Hon. J.E. HANSON (14:53): My question is to the Minister for Primary Industries and Regional Development. Will the minister speak to the chamber about the hay recently received by farmers in the Riverland and Murray Mallee through the fantastic work of the rapid relief team supported by the SA government's donated fodder transport subsidy scheme?

The Hon. C.M. SCRIVEN (Minister for Primary Industries and Regional Development, Minister for Forest Industries) (14:53): I thank the honourable member for his question. Members will recall that last November the Premier and I announced the first iteration of our government drought support package. The donated fodder transport subsidy scheme was part of that original package, supporting charities who were delivering donated hay to farmers in need. Initially, $2 million was committed to this scheme. It was so successful that in April, when we announced our extended drought support package, totalling $73 million in measures to assist farmers, we allocated a further $4 million to the donated fodder transport subsidy scheme.

Just recently, we announced that a further $1 million has been allocated for additional fodder deliveries and a free technical advisory service for drought-affected farmers. This next round of funding will be very targeted to farmers who remain in need due to the prolonged drought conditions. The technical advisory service will give priority access to farmers who are accessing the fodder scheme to provide professional advice on livestock, agronomy and soil management. This is being provided based on feedback that we have had from industry and from producers directly in respect of the need for support in decision-making as the season continues to evolve.

Livestock SA is also being provided with $50,000 in funding to coordinate livestock-related technical events. These technical events and the technical advisory service will also be able to play a key role in assisting farmers feeding livestock, particularly in being able to get the most out of donated fodder or, indeed, other fodder. Last Friday, over 600 tonnes of donated fodder was delivered to 131 Riverland and Murray Mallee farmers through the state government's donated fodder transport subsidy scheme. This was done in partnership with the Rapid Relief Team, delivering fodder to Paruna, south-east of Loxton.

This is in direct contradiction to the misinformation being spread by the member for Barker in federal parliament and on his social media. Tony Pasin has posted on his Facebook page about the fantastic work of the Rapid Relief Team at Browns Well last Friday—so far, so good. However, he then falsely states that:

…the Rapid Relief Team is not waiting for Government and is delivering much needed free fodder, thank God for them!

I am very thankful for the Rapid Relief Team and the great work that they are doing, but it is simply untrue, obviously, that this government is not part of that. The hay run spoken about by Mr Pasin in his self-aggrandising speech in federal parliament last week is the very hay run that this state government enabled to happen through funding for the transport costs of the Rapid Relief Team, but I am sure it does not surprise anyone in this chamber to see the member for Barker deliberately spreading misinformation for self-promotional purposes and for political gain.

Mr Pasin also references in his Facebook post other free fodder deliveries by the Rapid Relief Team in Streaky Bay and Jamestown, which I have also spoken about here in parliament because of course they, too, were funded by the state government for the transport costs. Now we see the member for Barker wanting to benefit from the desperation of farmers, who are facing some of the worst conditions that we have ever seen in terms of drought in the Riverland and Murray Mallee, and trying to do it to boost his own political profile.

While he is doing that, this government is doing the work, partnering with charities, including the Rapid Relief Team, and getting support out to farmers where we can. To date, the state government has funded the transport costs of charities to deliver more than 16,000 tonnes of fodder to around 2,000 South Australian farmers. I know this is having a real impact on farmers across the state as they continue to deal with this ongoing drought. I am very pleased that our government is supporting this initiative, and we will continue to work closely with industry and with charities to get support out to those farmers most in need.

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