A NSW Drought Summit was held on Monday, August 4, online with Mayor Jasmin Jones and local farmer Emma Webb speaking about the issues they face in the region.
There were plenty of speakers and issues raised at the summit, which ran throughout the afternoon for the 479 registered viewers.
Some of the things discussed at the summit include:
-Farmers are being overwhelmed by snowballing issues brought on by an increasingly intensifying drought.
– The emotional effect of watching livestock deteriorate, rising input costs, and constant uncertainty are unsustainable.
– Issues NSW farmers face are different from those in other states.
– Inflation and policy differences and their effect on agriculture.
– Limited access to direct financial support.- The declining mental health of rural farmers.
-The effect on others, not just those on the farm.
– Drought is no longer being declared a natural disaster and its consequences.
– Feral animals and weed incursions are escalating due to feed imports and unmanaged neighbouring lands.
– Poor road infrastructure is restricting fodder access and increasing freight costs.
-Rising debt in times of drought.
The recommendations made by the summit were:
1. Establish a NSW Government-Led, Producer-Informed Drought Taskforce
2. Reinstate Drought as a Natural Disaster
3. Provide Immediate Financial Relief
4. Strengthen Mental Health and Rural Support Services
5. Fund Recovery and Resilience
6. Improve Infrastructure and Logistics
Now the aim is to finalise and circulate the key themes and recommendations document, including a formal letter to Minister Moriarty.
There are also plans to submit the package to:
NSW Minister for Agriculture (Tara Moriarty)
NSW Premier’s Office
Relevant Commonwealth Ministers (Julie Collins, Kristy McBain)
Local MPs and Shadow Ministers DPI and Regional NSW executive staff.
Additionally, there will be a request for a formal response from Minister Moriarty regarding the establishment of the Government-Led, Producer-In-formed Drought Taskforce.
Mayor of Yass Valley Council, Jasmin Jones, said, “Yass Valley Council, your local council, is one of five councils that joined forces to shine a light on the issue of drought in our regions. Yass Valley Council area has been drought-impacted since May 24, and that means our farmers have been struggling to make sure that there’s fodder in the paddocks for a very long time. Drought is pretty insidious.
“They need some help from both our State and Federal Governments. Resilience planning is one thing, but dealing with drought as a natural disaster is what we need to see on the table going forward. We had a great lineup of speakers, including New South Wales Minister for Agriculture, Minister Tara Moriarty, and I thank her for her attendance. We also got some representation from the Federal government with Courtney Bryant, the Federal Assistant Secretary of the Drought Policy Branch.
“We also got local farmers such as Emma Webb from Bowning, one of our graziers, who gave her story about what the extra pressures are here in Yass Valley.”
Emma Webb said during her presentation at the Summit: “It’s really important to recognise the toll drought takes on our land, but also the toll it takes on people. Emotionally, financially, and socially, those three things are what I’m going to briefly give my perspective on today.
“Emotionally, yes, I am a third-generation wool grower. I have two brothers who chose not to come back to the family farm for different reasons, but my younger brother was most definitely impacted by the drought of 2005 and 2006. What he experienced and saw as a then 15- to 16-year-old pushed him away from a future in agriculture and into the career and the city lifestyle that he now enjoys.
“My own experience as a kid growing up with drought, coupled with my experiences now as a mum of three young children…. I’m very aware of the impact of drought on children, and it is often overlooked.
“Kids see the pressure that their parents are under. They’re often out in the paddocks with their parents before school, feeding sheep and after school, dragging bogged sheep out of dams. “They have responsibilities far beyond their years, and they’re exposed to things that most adults in this country wouldn’t cope with.
“It would be fantastic if mental health outreach were proactive, not reactive. There does need to be more funding for local rural councils and better coordi-nation with local regional schools during times of drought.
“Financially. I know everyone’s mentioned a lot of these things already, but I know personally that when times are tough and it feels like you’re just bleeding money, even a seemingly small act of financial support or relief is huge. Without a doubt, things like rate relief, transport subsidies, the relaxing of heavy vehicle restrictions for fodder routes, so transport costs are minimised. It all adds up, and it all helps. Drought relief is often too late. It’s hard to access, and sometimes it can be poorly targeted. “Current support also perhaps fo-cuses too much on recovery and not enough on preparedness and resilience. “There does need to be a shift to long-term risk management. “For most farmers, the historical approach to drought has been just to survive it, but it would be great if we could change things so that we’d become a region that thrives despite it.”
-Jack Murray
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