Australia: Dirty deal for live ex-farmers; government support withheld to 2025

Producers reliant on the live sheep trade will not see any support money for at least another eight months, Senate Estimates has heard. At the Tuesday hearing Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry representative Andrew McDonald said that the government anticipated that funding programs for farmers would open in the next financial year, following a co-design progress with industry. Senator Bridget McKenzie grilled Assistant Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry Anthony Chisholm over the timing of the delivery of funding. "This is an election commitment made more than two and a half years ago that's taken two and a half years to actually implement, you've brought forward the date from the original plan and no one's actually going to see any support from this government until after the next federal election," she said. "How is this good enough Minister?" The Senate's Rural and Regional Affairs and Transport Legislation Committee heard that out of the $97.3 ...