The New South Wales and federal governments are to make grants of up to $75,000 available to farmers affected by record floods that hit the Mid North Coast and Hunter regions in May.
The decision comes more than five weeks after the natural disaster, the delay prompting protest rallies in Taree and Kempsey.
Category D funding was approved after New South Wales made an application to the Commonwealth to share the cost.
Macleay Valley dairy farmer Mike Jeffery, who is also chair of the Norco Cooperative, said the announcement came as a relief.
“I think it’s very welcome and there’ll be a lot of farmers very pleased to hear that news today,” he said.
“It’s long overdue, I must say, and a lot of people have been waiting quite a few weeks for some certainty around funding.
“The mood amongst the farming community was that it was indisputable that category D funding was required for this event, and I think that there was just a lot of frustration as to whether it was forthcoming or not.”
Dairy farmer Mike Jeffery said $25,000 grants were not enough to feed his herd for a week. (ABC Coffs Coast: Claire Simmonds)
Mr Jeffery said the $75,000 grants would cover “just a fraction” of the losses incurred by many farmers during the disaster.
“When you consider that it’s about $26,000 for a B-double load of hay, it is going to be an important piece of funding, but it’s a long way from covering the full costs.
“We’ve already spent over $150,000 in the first month after the floods on feed, and the $75,000 will help cover some of those costs we’ve already incurred.
“Basically speaking, the $75,000 grant covers three to four weeks of hay for a lot of farms.”
Not for business
Until now grants of $25,000 were available for small businesses, primary producers and not-for-profit organisations in the affected regions to help them recover.
Federal Minister for Emergency Management Kristy McBain said today’s rollout of extra assistance would give primary producers the support they needed to “bounce back” from the disaster, but would not cover flood-affected businesses.
“New South Wales lead the recovery process here,” she said.
“They can make additional requests for support from the federal government and we will work with them on what that looks like, but at this stage, we’re talking about primary producers.”
Macleay Valley cattle have been reliant on hay this winter after flooding destroyed pastures. (ABC Coffs Coast: Claire Simmonds)
The news has disappointed Darren Sydenham, who employs seven people in his Jabiru Printing business in Kempsey.
He said the building was under 1.3 metres of water during the May floods.
“We lost a few of our printing machines that we’re not going to be able to afford to replace unless we get help from the government,” he said.
“It’s very disappointing for us [business and farmers] to be separated into two categories.
“I don’t think it’s very fair at all, as we’re all one community.”
NSW Nationals leader Dugald Saunders said he acknowledged the release of much-needed category D funding for primary producers but businesses had been left “out in the cold”.
Premier Chris Minns visited Taree after the major flood event. (ABC News: Sean Tarek Goodwin)
“The premier himself stood in an arcade in Taree and said that the flooding disaster that had occurred was worse than Lismore,”
Mr Saunders said.
“So there was an expectation and a bit of a wink and a nod from the premier that we understand what business needs and the government will back it in.”
Today, the federal government also doubled disaster recovery grants to $50,000 for small businesses impacted in western Queensland floods earlier this year.
“We’ve got exactly the same circumstances in places in New South Wales like Kempsey, Port Macquarie and Taree,” Mr Saunder said.
Dugald Saunders says businesses have been left out in the cold. (ABC News: Emma Siossian)
“What is NSW as a government doing about supporting our small business, when the federal government is obviously open to supporting them as they’ve done it for Queensland?”
Mr Saunders said the impacts of the “worst flooding in living memory” could mean “some generational businesses will not be able to restart again”.
A ‘tough’ wait for grants
Fifth-generation Hastings Valley oyster grower David Tunstead lost 10,000 oyster baskets out to sea and much of his lease infrastructure in the floods.
David Tunstead says waiting for the category D grants has been tough. (ABC Coffs Coast: Claire Simmonds)
Mr Tunstead said the seven-week wait for category D funding “wasn’t ideal at all”.
“After the Lismore floods was announced in three days and after the 2021 floods it was announced in seven days, this being seven weeks, it was tough on all the farmers.”
“It still won’t cover what I lost and what a lot of farmers lost, but it will give us some reassurance to rebuild and safeguard for the future.”
However, he foresees some oyster growers will be unable to continue operating, regardless of disaster relief grants, as Sydney rock oysters “take three years to regrow from a baby oyster to a mature oyster”.
“Some farmers may still go under, as I was speaking to someone farming on the Macleay [River] yesterday and he was looking at off-lease work in the mines.”
Mr Tunstead said he had plans on how to spend his $75,000 grant if successful in his application.
“What I’m planning on doing is buying a heap of half-grown oysters with the money so it’s only 12 months without an income.”
Wingham Riverside Reserve was badly impacted by the flooding. (Supplied: MidCoast Council)
NSW Minister for Agriculture Tara Moriarty said in a statement that affected farmers should contact the state’s Rural Assistance Authority as soon as possible to make an application for extra assistance.
“We have seen the destructive impact of the floods and talked with dairy, oyster and other farmers who have being doing it tough,” she said.
“This decision, with the Commonwealth, again shows our commitment to helping farmers get their businesses back to producing great produce.”
