Page 3303 - Week 09 - Wednesday, 21 August 2019
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first developed, but Peter has since been awarded an Order of Australia and elected to the Carbon Farmers hall of fame as recognition of the importance of his work for farmers and land conservation.
If members are interested in finding out more about this, Mulloon Creek near Bungendore is the closest place to observe this technique in action. They have regular open days where both members and anyone listening to today’s debate can find out more about it. They also have information online. Having met people who have been involved in that project, their sense of optimism, of the difference it can make for rural communities, is really inspiring. In the context of Mr Wall’s motion on the difficulties that farmers are facing, these sorts of changes are exactly the sorts of things that are going to help farmers in the long term.
I am focused a bit on the long term. We are of course also thinking about the short term today. As I said, I am pleased to hear Minister Gentleman’s comments about the government’s willingness to work with our rural leaseholders to examine the options that we need going forward, given the continuing dry circumstances. I will seek leave to move my amendment once we have worked through Minister Gentleman’s.
MR WALL (Brindabella) (5.00): I will speak very briefly to Mr Gentleman’s amendment. It is disappointing that he has come in here with an amendment. I will give him some credit. His amendment to part 1 of my motion adds a little more detail, and that is always welcome.
However, on the second part of it, which was the clause in which I was asking the government to reinstate the freight subsidy, continuing from the previous subsidy opportunity so that there was no opportunity for someone to fall through the cracks, the minister seems to have just come in here again with—and this is typical of this minister—a self-congratulatory: “Aren’t we amazing? We are doing all the right things.” It fails to address the crux of my motion, which is to give certainty to those carrying on a rural business in the ACT.
The minister said that there are some semantics, that the ACT has not been drought declared. But it beggars belief, when you have a look at the New South Wales maps, which are far more accurate than anything that is produced for all rural leaseholders locally. Everything to the east of the ACT has been declared drought affected and all property to the north, east and south of the ACT is drought declared. We are an island inside everything that is drought affected in New South Wales. Yet the minister says that we fail to declare a drought currently in the ACT.
It really beggars belief how that can be possible. When you look at the New South Wales maps, which break it down to a parish detail, the Parish of Burra, which is on one side of the Monaro Highway, is categorised as in drought. Yet, just on the opposite side of the road where ACT farming businesses are, it is not. I think that the minister might need to take that back and actually ask some serious questions of his departments why we have an instance where one side of the highway is drought affected or declared in drought yet the other side, in the ACT, inside his patch, has not been. I do not think that is a justification or a fair reason for the subsidies and the assistance that is on offer to have been withheld or cancelled, as it was in July.
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