Exceptional circumstances funding focus at RLPB field day
Wednesday December 3, 2008
Rural financial counsellor John Beer at the Glenhope field day last Thursday.
Farmers who attended last Thursday’s Rural Lands Protection Board (RLPB) Field Day at Glenhope who have not yet applied for Exceptional Circumstances (EC) government funding should do so immediately as it is likely to disappear altogether.
Guest speaker at the field day, John Beer, a Rural Financial Counsellor from Bourke, told farmers that the strong message from the Australian Government was “not to rely on this help”.
“Cobar is an EC declared area and you’ve had to live with the drought for many years,” Mr Beer said.
“And even after six to seven years of drought we have found that some farmers are only now claiming EC assistance for the first time.
“That may have been for a number of reasons, such as they may have had enough financial resources to keep them going.
“But these benefits, such as interest rate subsidies, are still there and we encourage those who haven’t made claims to do so now.”
He said the Cobar RLPB area is currently being reviewed for EC declaration with a determination to be made before the end of March.
“After March we’ll don’t know what will happen.
“There has not been much support for the EC Exit Package and so it is likely it will go,” Mr Beer said.
“It is also likely EC will stop altogether after June 2010.”
He said there would however be some help for farmers but it would be individually assessed on a case by case basis.
“It’s surprising that comments about the fairness of the system has come from farmers themselves.
“We’ve all seen it—you’ve had rain and your neighbour hasn’t.”
Mr Beer said the Productivity Commission (the Australian Government’s independent research and advisory body) is currently conducting a review of the national drought policy.
“It will take into account three main factors, climate change reports, the social impacts of drought and the financial impacts of drought,” Mr Beer said.
He encouraged farmers to provide feedback on the Drought Support Inquiry Report at www.pc.gov.au
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