Government won't commit to financial support for ACT farmers

Drought-stricken farmers in the ACT and across the border are being forced to fork out thousands of dollars to truck in feed from as far afield as South Australia, as the dry conditions that have turned paddocks to dust and created local feed shortages show no sign of abating.

In NSW, farmers can apply for a 50 per cent subsidy on transport costs to help them manage the increasing costs involved in keeping their stock alive, but the ACT is still not officially in drought and no such scheme is on offer in the territory.

ACT Rural Landholders Association president Tom Allen said farmers in the territory were facing the same struggles and needed the same subsidies, which are capped in NSW at $20,000 per farm, per year.

Mr Allen and fellow association representatives met with Environment Minister Mick Gentleman for an hour on Wednesday, and asked the ACT government to follow the NSW government's lead and introduce subsidies back-dated to January 1.

"I don't think they've got any choice but to," Mr Allen said, telling The Canberra Times that any reluctance to refer to the current weather in the ACT as a drought had now "gone out the window" in the past two months.

Last month was the driest July in the territory since 1982, with just 7.8 millimetres of rain recorded at Canberra Airport and warmer than average temperatures.

Mr Allen was optimistic that the ACT government would hear farmers' pleas and introduce financial assistance.

"[The meeting] was very good and I'm very confident that they'll match NSW," he said.

A request to interview Mr Gentleman was declined, with a spokesman saying he was travelling to Adelaide "on ministerial business".

In an emailed statement, Mr Gentleman said he was considering Mr Allen's proposals, but he did not commit to introducing transport subsidies.

"The ACT government will now work through these proposals and consider the most appropriate way to respond, both to their specific proposals as well as to the issue more generally," he said in an emailed statement.

Mr Gentleman said the government was putting together an inventory of unused territory land that might be suitable for relief grazing, examining improvements to fencing and watering for stock, and expediting requests for roadside grazing permits.

“This is an important issue, and one the ACT government is taking seriously," he said.

Mr Allen has also asked the government to step up kangaroo control, with extraordinary numbers of the animals destroying fences to access ACT farms, where they are competing with stock for the limited grass and crops farmers have left.

"The roo problem is in plague proportions," Mr Allen said.

"You only have to look at the number of roos in the city, let alone in the paddocks.

"We're quite happy to live with kangaroos in our environment, but not a plague of them."

While there are no ACT-specific drought payments on offer for ACT farmers, they are eligible for up to $12,000 in emergency drought assistance as part of a $576 million federal government package unveiled on the weekend.

Eligibility for the Commonwealth's farm household allowance is not dependent on official drought declarations, but the process to apply has been criticised.

To be considered for the payments, farmers are required to answer 258 questions on an 80-page form.

"Can you imagine some poor bloke coming in from having to shoot his sheep or pull cows out of a dam, and then having to fill that in?" Mr Allen said.

The Canberra Liberals have also urged the ACT government to give farmers immediate drought assistance.

“Farms across NSW are being devastated by one of the worst droughts in decades and ACT farmers continue to be impacted by the same conditions, with many farming families in the ACT fighting to keep their livestock alive," shadow minister for business Andrew Wall said.

Mr Wall said the ACT government should consider waiving farmers' rates, but Mr Allen said he had not raised that possibility in his meeting with Mr Gentleman.