Published Wednesday, 06 December, 2006 at 01:40 PM
Minister for Primary Industries and Fisheries
The Honourable Tim Mulherin
INCREASED ASSISTANCE TO DROUGHT-AFFECTED PRODUCERS
Primary producers would directly benefit from a raft of new drought assistance measures announced by the Queensland Government, Primary Industries and Fisheries Minister Tim Mulherin said today.
“The Premier and Deputy Premier and Treasurer this week outlined a number of new initiatives and expansion to the current drought program worth up to $32.5 million over two years,’’ Mr Mulherin said.
“Cumulative drought program outlays on both current programs and new programs since the current drought began are expected to be $221 million over the period 2001-02 to 2007-08.’’
Expanding on the primary producer specific aspects of the assistance announced by the Premier and Deputy Premier, Mr Mulherin said new initiatives included:
• Approval of Queensland’s contribution to the recently announced enhancements to the Exceptional Circumstances (EC) program for primary producers;
• Approval of Queensland’s contribution to the recently announced extension of EC assistance to small businesses of $2.17 million between now and the end of 2007-08.
• Changed to the Queensland Small Business Emergency Assistance Scheme (SBEAS) to bring it into better alignment with the expanded Commonwealth EC program by removing the current two year limit. SBEAS, which is a unique Queensland scheme, provides interest subsidies of up to $10,000 per annum to businesses with less than 100 employees. Amendments will also ensure small businesses cannot receive assistance from both SBEAS and the new EC for small business scheme.
• Changes to the State’s Drought Assistance Relief Scheme (DRAS) including:
1. The upper limit on subsidy payments has been raised from $30,000 to $40,000 in the third and subsequent years of a drought declaration on approval of the Local Drought Committee (LDC). The standard ceiling will remain at $20,000, which can be raised with LDC approval to $30,000 in the first two years of a drought declaration or to $40,000 thereafter;
2. Producers will now be able to access both DRAS and QRAA Drought Carry On loans;
3. Producers who purchase breeders and place them on agistment while still drought declared will be able to bring them home and claim freight subsidies once a drought declaration is removed. Producers will no longer be required to wait until their drought declaration is revoked to buy breeders;
4. Producers who fatten and sell stock direct from feedlots (retain ownership in the feedlot) while drought declared will be able to claim freight subsidies on replacement stock once a drought declaration is removed;
5. During the duration of the current, prolonged drought subsidies for the returning of stock forced from agistment to a droughted property can now occur more than once;
6. Producers will now be able to replace older core breeding stock (including bulls at a ratio of 4 percent to breeders) with weaners and will no longer face a 16 week suspension period on fodder freight subsidies (however, no restocking subsidies will be paid on transport costs associated with the introduction of weaners onto drought declared properties for this purpose); and
7. Fodder freight subsidies have been extended to include a drought feeding proportion for stud bulls (20 percent) in line with the subsidies available to commercial horse breeders. To date production fed stud bulls have been excluded from DRAS assistance.
• Rebates for council rates (50 per cent) on 2006-07 and 2007-08 to farmers in EC areas who are receiving Centrelink EC Relief Payments.
• Rebates on Part A water tariffs for irrigators in supplemented schemes who are receiving 20 percent or less of the announced allocation. The rebate would be capped at $10,000 pa and structured to provide up to a 100 percent rebate depending on current and past water availability. Where water availability improves to 50 percent or more of the announced allocation, the rebate will discontinue.
“These assistance measures reflect the Government’s commitment to producers during this very difficult period,’’ Mr Mulherin said.
“At the same time, DPI&F also is continuing to co-ordinate very successful, “one-stop shop’ information sessions in the worst drought-affected areas of the state.’’
Media: 32396530
“The Premier and Deputy Premier and Treasurer this week outlined a number of new initiatives and expansion to the current drought program worth up to $32.5 million over two years,’’ Mr Mulherin said.
“Cumulative drought program outlays on both current programs and new programs since the current drought began are expected to be $221 million over the period 2001-02 to 2007-08.’’
Expanding on the primary producer specific aspects of the assistance announced by the Premier and Deputy Premier, Mr Mulherin said new initiatives included:
• Approval of Queensland’s contribution to the recently announced enhancements to the Exceptional Circumstances (EC) program for primary producers;
• Approval of Queensland’s contribution to the recently announced extension of EC assistance to small businesses of $2.17 million between now and the end of 2007-08.
• Changed to the Queensland Small Business Emergency Assistance Scheme (SBEAS) to bring it into better alignment with the expanded Commonwealth EC program by removing the current two year limit. SBEAS, which is a unique Queensland scheme, provides interest subsidies of up to $10,000 per annum to businesses with less than 100 employees. Amendments will also ensure small businesses cannot receive assistance from both SBEAS and the new EC for small business scheme.
• Changes to the State’s Drought Assistance Relief Scheme (DRAS) including:
1. The upper limit on subsidy payments has been raised from $30,000 to $40,000 in the third and subsequent years of a drought declaration on approval of the Local Drought Committee (LDC). The standard ceiling will remain at $20,000, which can be raised with LDC approval to $30,000 in the first two years of a drought declaration or to $40,000 thereafter;
2. Producers will now be able to access both DRAS and QRAA Drought Carry On loans;
3. Producers who purchase breeders and place them on agistment while still drought declared will be able to bring them home and claim freight subsidies once a drought declaration is removed. Producers will no longer be required to wait until their drought declaration is revoked to buy breeders;
4. Producers who fatten and sell stock direct from feedlots (retain ownership in the feedlot) while drought declared will be able to claim freight subsidies on replacement stock once a drought declaration is removed;
5. During the duration of the current, prolonged drought subsidies for the returning of stock forced from agistment to a droughted property can now occur more than once;
6. Producers will now be able to replace older core breeding stock (including bulls at a ratio of 4 percent to breeders) with weaners and will no longer face a 16 week suspension period on fodder freight subsidies (however, no restocking subsidies will be paid on transport costs associated with the introduction of weaners onto drought declared properties for this purpose); and
7. Fodder freight subsidies have been extended to include a drought feeding proportion for stud bulls (20 percent) in line with the subsidies available to commercial horse breeders. To date production fed stud bulls have been excluded from DRAS assistance.
• Rebates for council rates (50 per cent) on 2006-07 and 2007-08 to farmers in EC areas who are receiving Centrelink EC Relief Payments.
• Rebates on Part A water tariffs for irrigators in supplemented schemes who are receiving 20 percent or less of the announced allocation. The rebate would be capped at $10,000 pa and structured to provide up to a 100 percent rebate depending on current and past water availability. Where water availability improves to 50 percent or more of the announced allocation, the rebate will discontinue.
“These assistance measures reflect the Government’s commitment to producers during this very difficult period,’’ Mr Mulherin said.
“At the same time, DPI&F also is continuing to co-ordinate very successful, “one-stop shop’ information sessions in the worst drought-affected areas of the state.’’
Media: 32396530