Drought Relief

About this Item
Speakers - Clough Mr Ralph; Amery Mr Richard
Business - Questions Without Notice

DROUGHT RELIEF

Mr CLOUGH: My question without notice is addressed to the Minister for Agriculture. What steps has the Government taken to make the New South Wales Rural Assistance Authority more effective in helping farmers to access drought assistance?

Mr AMERY: On behalf of all members I welcome back the honourable member for Bathurst; he has just spent some time in hospital. It goes to show that even a wounded Labor member delivers more for country electorates than any healthy National Party member.

[Interruption]

It worries me that the honourable member for Burrinjuck always seems to be cranky, upset and gruff. Has he ever tried to take up the All-Bran challenge? I have been told that it makes one a nicer person after about three weeks. On 30 September I announced that a further $20 million of drought relief was made available by the Federal Government for New South Wales farmers under the exceptional
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circumstances program. Support has been extended to the Rural Lands Protection Board of Molong, division B; Merriwa, divisions C and D; Mudgee, divisions A, C and D; Bathurst, divisions A and C, and the western part of division D; Carcoar, division A; and Dubbo, divisions B and C. The extension applies from 29 May 1995. The best way to describe the support is that it picks up those areas that missed out on the exceptional circumstances announcement by Senator Bob Collins on 29 May. The decision by the Federal Minister for Primary Industries and Energy to grant extensions to the exceptional circumstances for drought relief areas means that an additional 1,000 farmers are eligible for Commonwealth assistance.

To assist farmers in their efforts to gain assistance under the exceptional circumstances I requested the Rural Assistance Authority to place officers in Dubbo and Bathurst. I advise the House that Mr Frank Slade is now in Dubbo and Mr Keith Pyne is now operating out of Bathurst, assisting farmers in relation to this further support. I urge farmers who think they may be eligible to contact these two RAA officers as quickly as possible. On 19 July I announced wide-ranging changes to the troubled Rural Assistance Authority following a review of the organisation's operations. The authority, which has responsibility for the distribution of drought aid to farmers, had been the subject of criticism over its handling of applications from farmers for drought and readjustment assistance.

The review followed an earlier damning report by the Public Accounts Committee that was brought down in February 1995, during the term of the previous Government As a result of the review I announced that the authority will be made more accessible to farmers and undergo a major change in its focus. Until now the authority has been a mail order organisation based in Sydney, remote from the people that it is supposed to serve. I want it to be more accessible to farmers. This will be achieved by locating officers in regional centres using existing New South Wales Agricultures offices and shifting the headquarters of the RAA to the country, specifically to Orange. The relocation to Orange is designed to strengthen services to rural industries, and is the first step to give the RAA a regional presence with greater access to its client base.

Operations of the RAA in Orange will commence from 1 February 1996, and staff of the authority will be required to relocate to Orange by 1 February 1997. However, they may do so immediately if they so desire. The authority is now under the umbrella of New South Wales Agriculture. At the same time it has become more orientated towards achieving positive outcomes for primary producers and rural communities. The authority will retain its independence and operate as a distinct entity. It will effectively have a shopfront presence through all New South Wales Agriculture offices across the State. Officers of the RAA moving to Orange will be provided with the same relocation package that was provided to New South Wales Agriculture employees who moved to Orange as part of the decentralisation package of the previous Government. The number of staff intending to make the move to Orange is uncertain. Negotiations with the unions are continuing. The move is being coordinated by staff members of New South Wales Agriculture. I expect that the relocation to Orange - which will result in a presence in a number of rural areas - will be successful.

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