Farmers doing it tough across Barker will benefit from the Coalition Government’s decision to extend the Farm Household Allowance (FHA) from three to four years.
Member for Barker Tony Pasin said he welcomed the changes which will give farmers more time to get on their feet.
“Farmers said extending FHA was a sensible measure which would help them, and we listened,” Tony said.
“This extra time will give them more breathing space to implement plans to become financially self-sufficient so they are in a better position to sustain their farming businesses.
“I need to stress that farmers should not self-assess whether they’re eligible for FHA – I fear many eligible families across Barker have not applied.
“The Minister for Agriculture will hold a drought roundtable in coming weeks with key farming stakeholders, including the National Farmers’ Federation (NFF) and state farming groups.”
The Coalition Government already provides a range of support measures to assist farming families in hardship. These include FHA, the Rural Financial Counselling Service (RFCS) and Drought Assistance Concessional Loans.
The Coalition Government also recently boosted funding of the Rural Financial Counselling Service to more than $70 million from 1 April 2016 to 30 June 2020. This will make sure the program keeps up with demand and will help farming communities to generate their own wealth and build strong, healthy livelihoods.
For more information on the support available for farmers, visit: http://www.agriculture.gov.au/ag-farm-food/drought/assistance/sup-farmers-rural-communities-drought.
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