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31 Oct 2006 | Payroll tax relief for bush businesses
The New South Wales government will provide a $1 million payroll tax relief package for small businesses in the bush and more help for families to pay their household expenses, including utilities bills. ...... FULL STORY
30 Oct 2006 | Small business ignore financial aid
Operators of small businesses in farming regions affected by the drought are campaigning for financial assistance similar to the interest rate subsidies paid to farmers. ...... FULL STORY
27 Oct 2006 | ABA frets over small business in the bush
The Australian Bankers Association says its members have few concerns about the viability of farmers, but hold concerns about the financial health of small businesses and contractors who rely on them. ...... FULL STORY
25 Oct 2006 | More drought aid for farmers and banks
The Australian government’s latest package of assistance for farmers in drought-affected areas has a couple of ramifications for banks. ...... FULL STORY
25 Oct 2006 | Drought relief covers half of all farmland
Financial aid from the federal government for farmers is likely to apply to farmers more than half the agricultural land in Australia. ...... FULL STORY
24 Oct 2006 | Contractors may defer some tax payments
Additional drought relief measures rumoured to be announced by the federal government later this week include a deferral of tax payments for contractors... ...... FULL STORY
23 Oct 2006 | More drought aid may be paid as grants
The federal government may pay small infrastructure grants to farmers under an extended package of measures to provide financial relief during the drought. ...... FULL STORY
23 Oct 2006 | Pipeline underway to Mallee
Construction will start next month on the first stage of the Wimmera Mallee water pipeline. ...... FULL STORY
23 Oct 2006 | Modest rise in water prices
The national index of prices for water entitlements, or Waterdex, has increased five per cent over the last 12 months, to an average price of $875 per megalitre. ...... FULL STORY
23 Oct 2006 | National water market a dream
More than 20,000 state rules and regulations blunt the operation of the market for water. ...... FULL STORY
20 Oct 2006 | Quarantine review mechanisms revised
Any “import risk analysis”, or IRA, must now be completed within 24 months, though an “expanded” assessment would be allowed 30 months under new regulations. ...... FULL STORY
19 Oct 2006 | Slight increase in water allocations on Murray Goulburn
Goulburn-Murray Water said it would increase water allocations, even though inflows are near an all time low. ...... FULL STORY
19 Oct 2006 | Twelve per cent of farmers seek drought aid
Nearly 15,000 of Australia's 130,000 farmers have received interest rate subsidies under exceptional circumstances assistance. ...... FULL STORY
18 Oct 2006 | Bourke and Brewarrina farmers advised to walk off the land
Wentworth Group convenor and scientist Peter Cullen said farmers working marginal farm land, such as that around Bourke and Brewarrina in western New South Wales, should accept that parts of Australia are perpetually dry and unsuitable for farming. ...... FULL STORY
18 Oct 2006 | Most WA farms miss out on drought relief
More than 61,000 square kilometres of farmland in the Western Australia’s wheat belt is in drought after the driest winter on record. ...... FULL STORY
17 Oct 2006 | Howard won’t pay farmers to leave the land
The Prime Minister said farmers would not be paid to leave the land. ...... FULL STORY
17 Oct 2006 | Drought relief extended to March 2008
The federal government will extend income support and interest rate subsidies for irrigators, dry land farmers and dairy farmers in 18 “exceptional circumstances” declared areas in Victoria, NSW, Queensland, South Australia until March 2008. ...... FULL STORY
17 Oct 2006 | Drought aid ignores futility of farming on the margins
Professor Peter Cullen, a water ecologist and member of the Wentworth Group of Concerned Scientists and a board member of the National Water Commission said... ...... FULL STORY
13 Oct 2006 | Carry-on finance an option for stronger farms
The Australian Bankers Association, said last night that banks were prepared to deal with farmers on a case by case basis. ...... FULL STORY
13 Oct 2006 | Drought relief rules eased
Farm communities will be able to receive government drought assistance continuously for up to 18 months rather than having to reapply as often as every five months. ...... FULL STORY
13 Oct 2006 | Most catchments in a parched state
A report by the Department of Primary Industry shows that catchment areas are far worse off than previously thought and that even heavy rain in coming months would be insufficient to provide adequate irrigation for many areas. ...... FULL STORY
12 Oct 2006 | Hand-outs only farm income this season
Treasurer Peter Costello said many farmers would not earn any income this season and that this may be the worst drought ever. ...... FULL STORY
12 Oct 2006 | Timber plantations flatten local economies
Agribusiness consultancy Mike Stephens & Associates argued in a report that 35 per cent of managed investment scheme income comes from government assistance. ...... FULL STORY
11 Oct 2006 | $29m a month spent on farm family support
The federal government said it he had written to banks and financial institutions asking them to be sympathetic to the plight of farmers during the drought. ...... FULL STORY
6 Oct 2006 | Goulburn water eight times more expensive
Goulburn Murray Water told farmers in the Shepparton region of northern Victoria they would get only 21 per cent of their usual allocations. ...... FULL STORY
5 Oct 2006 | Crop forecasts slumps in SA
The Primary Industries and Resources Department forecasts a grain crop in South Australia of 3.2 million tonnes, with a value estimated to be down $700 million on the $1.4 billion expected before drought conditions developed. ...... FULL STORY
4 Oct 2006 | Little chance of a break in the drought
The federal agricultural minister Peter McGauran said his advice was that there was only a five per cent to 10 per cent chance of drought-breaking rains before summer. ...... FULL STORY
4 Oct 2006 | Interest rate relief reprieved
The federal agricultural minister Peter McGauran said he agreed only in principle to recommendations that the government remove interest rate relief as a core element of the financial assistance available at times of drought. ...... FULL STORY
3 Oct 2006 | Cuts likely to high-security water rights in Murray-Darling basin
The Murray Darling Basin Commission warned that drought conditions mean the Murray River's storage system "could be drawn down to very low levels" by the end of the 2006/2007 water season. ...... FULL STORY
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