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Drought loan idea canned
16 Jun 2004
The Federal Government has rejected any move to use education HECS-style loans as part of its drought policy. Deputy Prime Minister John Anderson slammed the scheme as a city-centric Labor plan and said it would gut country Australia and devastate farmers recovering from drought. The scheme has been advocated by former Labor adviser Bruce Chapman; it involves the provision of no-interest loans during drought, to be repaid when farm conditions improved.
Mr Anderson said the plan would potentially cost farmers billions of dollars if introduced, with many farmers carrying major debts for years after the drought was over. This plan would impose a dead hand on their recovery prospects, draining cash out of rural and regional Australia just when country people need it most, he stated.
Labor's agriculture spokesman, Gavan O'Connor, also ruled out "absolutely" plans to introduce a loans scheme as part of its drought policy. I can categorically say that such a scheme is not on our agenda, he said.
Weekly Times, 16/6/04, page 2.
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