Last week I appeared before the final of 14 regional meetings for the Rural Debt and Drought Taskforce in Brisbane.
Following lobbying by KAP’s Robbie Katter the Taskforce was established by the Government last October to help identify and recommend solutions to address the debt issues faced by Queensland’s primary producers.
This process has been well supported around the state at the regional meetings with many producers coming forward to speak about their struggles through these tough times.
AgForce was represented on the Taskforce by North Region President Russell Lethbridge and I’m looking forward to the report and the response by the State Government to identify pathways to support producers achieve ongoing profitability.
Managing debt caused by this drought is a struggle for a greater-than normal proportion of producers.
There are a range of contributing factors including recurrent drought, the live cattle export suspension decision, the cost-price squeeze, wild dog and macropod competition for scarce pasture.
In fact almost two-thirds of AgForce members surveyed last year stated this drought is the worst financially they have experienced, and 11 per cent indicated their debt has more than doubled during this drought.
This response needs to be wide-ranging. It needs to be rational about the business prospects of those in the industry while assisting those who will not continue in industry, including mentoring, relocation, retraining, expert representation in debt mediations.
AgForce has provided a written submission to the Taskforce which is available on our website for members.
We called on support for better producer health and well-being, including emergency education assistance funding, along with assistance for professional business assessment and recovery planning.
There is also a need for a government financial recovery package featuring no interest or principal repayments for an initial period, plus a government-backed guarantee of loans to enable re-financing where subsequent enterprise viability is likely.
AgForce was also supportive of working with government and lenders on a collaborative review of lending, valuation practices and regulatory barriers to deliver the best business operating environment possible.
This included removing barriers to farm family succession, effective research programs, further red tape reduction and a greater focus on rural and regional infrastructure investment and developing vibrant economies.
