The Government must urgently boost relief for regional communities, as South Australia’s drought crisis worsens.
The Opposition says the relief package previously announced by the Malinauskas Labor Government is woefully inadequate and shows they have no idea how tough the current conditions are on primary producing communities.
Standing in Mount Torrens today with local dairy farmer, Rodney Herrmann, Leader of the Opposition, Vincent Tarzia, Shadow Minister for Water Infrastructure, David Basham and Member for Schubert, Ashton Hurn discussed these critical issues firsthand.
Mr Tarzia said the recent announcement of water collection points in the Adelaide Hills communities of Woodside, Sandergrove, and Brukunga, are welcome, but barely scratch the surface of what’s needed.
“These water collection points are a small step, but they’re not a long-term solution. The Government needs to officially acknowledge this significant weather event as a drought and start treating it with the seriousness it deserves,” Mr Tarzia said.
“That’s why we’re calling on the Government to extend the current water collection scheme to not only include households, but agriculture too.”
Shadow Minister for Primary Industries and Regional South Australia, Nicola Centofanti said the Government also needs to broaden its current funding package to include subsidies for water carting, additional funding for hay delivery and transport, and no or low-interest concession loans to help with cashflow for essentials like fodder and fertiliser.
“These are hand-ups, not hand-outs, and it’s exactly what industry has been telling us they need to get through this crisis,” Dr Centofanti added.
“The Opposition has visited these drought-affected regions multiple times, and it’s shocking and heartbreaking to see our farmers battling through without the support they need from this Government.
“What’s worse is that those who have applied for the On-Farm Infrastructure Rebate Scheme have been told that due to a ‘high level of interest,’ application processing times have blown out to 10 weeks. These farmers have been waiting since December and can’t afford to hold on another two and a half months for relief - they need support now.”
Dr Centofanti added that of the previous $18 million drought support package, less than half of it was new money and was expected to be divided up across the entirety of regional South Australia.
“This is quite frankly disrespectful to a sector that is the backbone of the South Australian economy,” Dr Centofanti said.
“We called on the Government six months ago to ensure drought preparation was a priority, but their response so far has been woefully inadequate now that the state is in the grips of a full-blown drought.
“These hard-working South Australians deserve a Government that acts swiftly and delivers long-term, practical solutions for the drought-affected regions.”
Comments attributable to Mount Torrens dairy farmer, Rodney Herrmann:
“We've got 150 milking cows here at Mount Torrens. A milking cow drinks at least 150 litres of water a day - so that is around 25,000 litres daily to keep the dairy farm operating. A further 5,000 litres of water, including recycled, is used each day in the dairy for wash down.
“Our dams are getting very low now, and we don't have access to mains water. A neighbour has been very generous to allow us to pump water from their dam - a distance of 900 metres. This is not a long-term solution, but it has given us a lifeline until we get proper relief.
“We ran completely dry in early 2016 and again low in 2020 after the bushfires. Water is such a valuable resource in this area. There are no bores on the farm, and we rely totally on surface water in dams.
“The last two years have been drier than usual, leading to a shorter spring growing season and lower hay yields - this has led to increased hay and grain prices. The dairy cows are still well fed with a large amount of bought in hay and grain but this time of the year the cost of producing milk is very high.
“There are many other farmers who are battling through some of the toughest times I can remember. There needs to be more support for them so that they can stay operational. What farmers need is more grass roots support and education to handle some of the factors that can be managed. On behalf of the farmers, we need help now, to keep viable and our spirits up in a positive mindset. Politicians can't be in control of the weather, but they can be in control of how they deal with the crisis.”
