Mike Baird med rel — Premier tours drought-affected North West

NSW Premier Mike Baird and Minister for Primary Industries Katrina Hodgkinson today toured the State’s North West to witness the conditions being faced by drought-affected farmers.

Mr Baird and Ms Hodgkinson flew from Tamworth to Weilmoringle on the NSW-Queensland border, where they were joined by Member for Barwon and Minister for Western NSW Kevin Humphries.

“Flying over the New England and the North West has given me a clear and alarming picture of just how tough conditions are across the State,” Mr Baird said.

“Despite recent rain over some parts of NSW, some areas in the North West are currently experiencing the driest 12-month period in 200 years of rainfall records.

“The NSW Liberals & Nationals Government is keeping a close eye on the situation on the ground and today’s visit has given me a chance to hear from farmers first hand.

“The feedback we receive today will help ensure we are responding appropriately to the conditions they’re facing on the ground, while assisting them to be better prepared for dry conditions in the future.

“The resilience of communities across the North West is admirable and I’d like to thank Ms Hodgkinson and Mr Humphries for bringing the situation here to my attention.

“The NSW Government is working to ensure we are supporting farmers get through the worst, while encouraging them to make changes to be better prepared to respond to similar conditions in the future,” Mr Baird said.

Mr Baird and Ms Hodgkinson visited Bullabelalie, a 14,900 hectare property near Weilmoringle, where on-farm drought preparedness work had been carried out.

“Conditions in the State’s North West NSW are some of the worst on record as other parts of NSW face difficult seasonal conditions,” Ms Hodgkinson said.

“We are continuing to provide support to our primary producers and rural and regional communities since the introduction of the national drought program on 1 July 2014.

“Drought doesn’t respect lines on maps and it’s imperative that a national approach is taken to managing this issue.

“Before the national drought program was introduced, the NSW Government allocated more than $30 million to a temporary emergency assistance package to help farmers adopt practical measures to ensure their long-term viability.

“I have visited drought-affected parts of NSW on a number of occasions since November last year, and will continue meeting with farmers, councils and community groups to receive feedback on the effectiveness of our support measures going forward.

“I will be relaying these concerns in my discussions with the Commonwealth Government about drought support arrangements,” Ms Hodgkinson said.

Mr Humphries welcomed the visit by Mr Baird and Ms Hodgkinson to his electorate to see the challenges local communities are facing through the drought.

“Many primary producers in Western NSW have only had two of the past 10 years free of either drought or flood, and although landholders have been well prepared the current drought has been longer and dryer than anticipated,” Mr Humphries said.

“The NSW Government is listening to the concerns of our primary producers and we will continue to provide assistance during this very difficult time.

“It’s pleasing to see the commitment shown by the Premier and the Minister toward helping many of the State’s most vulnerable residents, at a time when they need help most.”

The DPI and Local Land Services continue to provide technical advice and assistance to farmers, and the independent Regional Assistance Advisory Committee continues to monitor seasonal conditions and the effectiveness of current support arrangements.