LABOR'S latest drought package is nothing more than a political stunt designed to generate headlines, not help the farmers who are hanging on by a thread.
While access to infrastructure grants for parts of north-east and central Victoria may sound like progress, they miss the mark entirely.
The funding fails to address the immediate and critical needs of our primary producers - particularly the need for urgent assistance with water, fodder, and the mounting cost of staying afloat in some of the toughest conditions in living memory.
Offering a temporary, one-year pause on emergency services levy increases is a token gesture at best.
It’s a weak concession that does little to ease the long-term financial burden, and we know that as soon as the year is up, they will expect farmers to do the heavy lifting again.
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We won’t forget how readily this government exploited struggling regional communities to cover for its own financial mismanagement.
On top of all of this, drought still hasn’t been formally declared in our region.
Our farmers are at breaking point.
The paddocks are dry, the dams are empty, and debts are growing.
In the face of all this, Labor has delivered lip service rather than leadership.
These half-measures and hollow announcements aren’t just inadequate - they’re insulting.
Annabelle Cleeland MP
State Member for Euroa
