“Feed is becoming increasingly scarce, water sources are drying up, and financial pressure is mounting,” he said.
“Without further support from the State Government, we risk long-term damage not just to farming families, but to entire rural communities.”
VFF is calling for an expansion and increase in southwest Victoria’s support package, Farm Business Resilience Program, rural financial counselling services, and joint state and federal government investment in strategic water infrastructure projects.
It is also seeking increased kangaroo harvesting quotas in drought-affected regions to reduce pressure on pasture and water supplies.
Mr Tehan said a failed spring followed by a failed autumn had hit communities hard.
“The need for assistance in south-west Victoria is urgent,” he said.
“Farmers are telling me they have never experienced such a prolonged dry period. Rainfall is at record lows, and the long-term forecasts offer little hope for improvement.”
Mr Tehan referred to the $73-million support package provided by the South Australian government as a model, stressing without similar assistance, Victorian farmers and rural towns risked significant social and economic decline.
“The Allan Labor government’s response shows just how out of touch they are with the real challenges facing our local farming communities,” he said.
“Offering $5000 grants for water troughs is meaningless when the dams are dry and there’s no water to fill them.
“Farmers are being forced to cart water just to keep their stock alive.”
Cr Armstrong said impacts of drought have ripple effects across communities.
“For some younger families, this is their first experience of the challenges that come with drought, and unfortunately for others, this is a repeat event,” she said.
“The drought of the 2000s highlighted the incredible need for infrastructure to share water across communities. It’s not just for keeping stock going, but community assets like recreation ovals, to lessen the impact on communities.
“We know that getting together at a sporting oval or at the netball courts is a really important way for people to stay connected with one another. It’s not so much a discussion on the scoreline, but how people are coping, and the support they give one another.”
Exacerbated
Cr Armstrong said the stresses communities were feeling was exacerbated by the failure of the timely delivery of the East Grampians Water Pipeline project, and the timing of the water infrastructure grants.
“We’re just so disappointed that we’ve not been able to have the full promised pipeline project delivered as was expected by this point in time,” she said.
“The Department of Agriculture’s $5000 co-contribution grant wasn’t announced until September 30, and most farmers had already made decisions to mitigate the risk and had already invested in infrastructure.”
Cr Armstrong said an important support was the Rural Finance Counselling Service.
“The counselling service is available for all businesses and all people who are feeling the stress of drought – it’s free and confidential and I encourage people to access that,” she said.
“There’s a level of exhaustion across the community as well from a pretty intense fire season, and stress of the proposal to replace the Fire Services Property Levy with the Emergency Services Volunteers Fund.
“It’s inequitable across all property owners, but particularly so for farmers – there seems to be very poor understanding of capacity to pay.
“Slapping a tax on an asset that is actually not productive at this point in time due to drought is just incredibly ignorant, incredibly uncaring and disrespectful.”
Cr Armstrong said council offered support to its residents during times of hardship.
“We have a financial hardship policy and I do encourage ratepayers to contact council to find out how financial relief can be extended to support them,” she said.
“We really do want to be compassionate and have a clear understanding that it is going to be a tough time for us for a long while yet. We encourage people to reach out for support – don’t ever feel too proud to contact the Royal Financial Counselling Service or Lifeline or Beyond Blue.
“We would really appreciate the State Government to think twice about what are appropriate actions to take at this point in time and the impact it’s going to have on people’s lives, not just their balance sheet.
“We are talking about lives here.”
The entire May 7, 2025 edition of The Weekly Advertiser is available online. READ IT HERE!
