New South Wales Farmer’s Association President Fiona Simson has compared this year’s budget to a ‘breakfast pastry’ whilst calling for the ‘substance’ of the Agriculture White Paper to be released.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
The 2015 budget does contain a number of initiatives that will benefit farmers such as accelerated depreciation for fencing, water infrastructure and fodder storage.
However, Association President Fiona Simson says these measures do not go far enough to promote a vibrant rural Australia.
“This year’s budget is best compared to having pastries for breakfast – tasty and sweet on the outside, but leaving you wanting more,” she said.
“NSW Farmers have been advocating for the initiatives announced in the budget for a long time, and they should be welcomed by the broader agricultural community however, we are still cautiously waiting for the policy direction and substance of the Agricultural Competitiveness White Paper.
“Of course these initiatives come with a catch; they don’t begin until July 2017, meaning that for now Mr Hockey gets all of the media benefits and none of the budget pain.”
Ms Simson went on to say that the Farmer’s Association also has strong concerns about the structure of the Federal Government’s concessional loan schemes.
“These loans need to be redesigned to provide for longer terms, lower rates and more reasonable eligibility criteria. Neither the federal government nor drought stricken farmers benefit from the looming policy failure that these loans currently represent,” she said.
“This is especially the case given that Australia has now officially been declared to be in an El Nino weather pattern and another dry season is on the way.
However, Member for New England Barnaby Joyce claims he has spoken with Treasurer Joe Hockey about bringing the total deduction for any spending on fencing and water infrastructure forward, to be in line with the tax breaks being offered to small business.
“I've been following it up with the Treasurer and I hope to do something to truncate that timeframe into a more immediate form and do it in the very near future,” he said
But Shadow Minister for Rural Affairs Joel Fitzgibbon said that any assistance given to the New England electorate has to be taken within the context of harsh cuts.
“Any assistance given to Mr Joyce’s electorate is dwarfed by $14.8 million dollars in cuts to Local Government assistance grants for councils over the next 4 years,” he said.
“Of course, last year’s Budget is still biting rural and regional Australia harder than it is our city cousins. There are the cuts to health and education and fuel tax rises these all hit hardest in rural and regional Australia.
