Drought

The Hon. CHRISTINE ROBERTSON: I address my question to the Minister for Primary Industries. Can the Minister update the House on the effect of the drought on regional New South Wales?

The Hon. TONY KELLY: I thank the member for her question and continued interest in rural and regional areas. Hot, dry weather continues from one end of New South Wales to the other and the bad news is there is little reprieve in sight. The latest drought figures show the relentless nature of the long dry and its ongoing toll on New South Wales. The November drought map reveals that only 1.9 per cent of New South Wales is now considered satisfactory and that 73.6 per cent of New South Wales is now officially declared, a marked increase from October's 67.7 per cent. The area considered marginal has decreased from 27.4 per cent to 24.5 per cent. Even coastal areas are now in drought or suffering marginal conditions. In fact, there is only one satisfactory patch in the whole State and that is on the Central Tablelands, around the home area of former Minister Macdonald, that beautiful area between Canobolas and Bathurst.

Each day our farmers wake up to drought-ravaged paddocks and dwindling water supplies for irrigation, stock and domestic use, and many have been doing that for nearly eight years. As summer approaches we can expect to see more hot temperatures, similar to those experienced over the past week. These temperatures, accompanied by drying winds, quickly suck up what little soil moisture there is and surface water remains. On top of this, below average rainfall is forecast. With the winter crop harvest now almost complete, it is clear that dry spring conditions have had a devastating impact on our winter crop.

Hot and dry weather prompted an early harvest this year and in most areas yields have been disappointing because of moisture stress and frost damage. Farmers planted 3.2 million hectares of wheat this year, but just 2.6 million hectares are expected to be harvested. Similar reductions are expected for other winter crops, such as barley, oats, triticale, cereal rye and canola. An estimated 220,000 tonnes harvest of canola is now forecast, following crop failures and frost damage. Summer crops are also being affected by drought.

The New South Wales cotton crop is forecast to be 100,000 hectares, which is less than half of normal plantings. The prospects for dry land summer crops are slightly better, even though they vary from region to region and time of sowing. Current estimates are for summer crop plantings of almost 310,000 hectares, excluding rice. The prospects also remain relatively poor for irrigated summer crops, due to continuing low water levels in major water storages across the State. Rice production is forecast to be only 20 per cent of pre-drought production levels. The ongoing setbacks and hardships caused by years of drought are not what our hardworking, drought-weary farmers need. However, our commitment to helping them survive this drought remains strong.

The State Government has committed more than $500 million in drought assistance measures since the long dry began. Since 2002 the State Government drought hotline has received 16,869 direct calls for assistance, providing advice and information; 143,200 drought transport claims have been processed; about 3,000 drought workshops have been held by Industry and Investment NSW; almost 2,000 Special Conservation Scheme applications have been approved; and almost 40,000 exceptional circumstances interest subsidies applications have been processed for primary producers. This Government will continue to work with farmers in their battle with this relentless drought. [Time expired.]