Reform drought assistance:Productivity Commission

The drought assistance programs that the Federal government provides for  Australian farmers should be redirected, according to the Productivity Commission.

In a report just released, the commission suggests that the government should introduce risk management procedures instead.

“In an assessment of existing drought programs, the Commission found that, when measured against policy objectives relating to self-reliance, preparedness and climate change management, the programs have many shortcomings,” the report said.

In particular, the Commission said the current exceptional circumstances declaration process is “inequitable and divisive.”

It said, too, that  interest subsidies and payments for the transport of fodder and livestock are “ineffective” and can “perversely encourage poor farm practices.”

The commission said also that farm families, trapped in hardship, could miss out on relief if their farms were outside drought declared areas.

Commissioner Mike Wood said that while drought is not new to dry land farming, current conditions are similar to those encountered both at the time of Federation and in the 1940s.

“Yet despite the severity of the conditions, most farmers have been self reliant and have not received drought assistance,” Commissioner Wood said.

He proposed that all farm families facing hardship, not just those in drought declared areas, should have access to temporary income support, through a scheme designed specifically for farm conditions.

Farmers who wanted to leave the land should be eligible for retraining, the Commission said.

The report is available at http://www.pc.gov.au/