‘Rich’ farmers opt for drought relief
Matthew Franklin and Sean Parnell; 20/9/08
Thousands of farmers are receiving taxpayer-funded drought relief despite having access to $2.8 billion in savings they squirrelled away during economic good times. And the federal Government’s National Rural Advisory Council has revealed the nation’s Exceptional Circumstances drought relief scheme is encouraging farmers to live on handouts instead of adapting to make their farms viable, creating a new rural welfare dependency. The claims from the NRAC, made in a submission to a Rudd Government review on relief arrangements, were underlined by southwestern Queensland farmer Rod Back who, while living in a drought-affected region, doesn’t get EC funding because he and his wife earn more than $20,000 a year from jobs outside the farm.
See: http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,25197,24374071-5013404,00.html
Tags: Australia, Environment, Workers