February 20, 2009
The Nationals Member for Gippsland Darren Chester says he is optimistic that Exceptional Circumstances (EC) funding will be returned to Latrobe Valley farmers after a visit to the region by the Federal Minister for Agriculture Tony Burke.
Mr Chester said Latrobe Valley farmers highlighted the need for additional assistance to deal with ongoing drought conditions and the bushfires during meetings this week at Traralgon South and Gormandale.
Mr Chester has been lobbying the Minister to support an extension of EC assistance after the Latrobe Valley was excluded following a review of the boundaries last year by the National Rural Advisory Council (NRAC).
“I’m sure that Tony Burke appreciated the severity of the situation but the Minister doesn’t have complete control over the decision. It is NRAC which makes independent recommendations for the Minister to consider and the view expressed last year was that there were signs of recovery in the Latrobe Valley,” Mr Chester said.
“Given the ongoing dry conditions and the bushfires, any signs of recovery – if they ever existed – have certainly stalled and our farming community needs additional assistance.
“I would like to congratulate the Minister for taking the time to meet with farmers and outlining the various forms of assistance which have been made available in response to the bushfires.
“It will certainly help Gippsland’s recovery effort if our nation’s leaders have a first hand understanding of the conditions on the ground.”
Mr Chester said he would continue to support community efforts to have EC assistance restored in areas such as Glengarry, Callignee, Boolarra and Traralgon South.
“The Minister made a welcome announcement in Parliament recently that EC assistance would continue across Gippsland until 2010 which will provide some much-needed certainty and a little bit of respite for farmers in the East Gippsland and Wellington Shires,” Mr Chester said.
“But farmers in the Latrobe Valley are not included in that extension and I will be working with the State and Federal Governments to do whatever we can to help the farming sector through a very difficult period.”