Mr St CLAIR (12:21 PM) —This government has worked hard to support the viability of farm families during some of the most challenging times that the rural sector has faced. During the last 30 years we have seen some of the toughest droughts in history, interspersed with some of the worst floods. At times we have watched helplessly as crops have been devastated by frost, hail, disease, insect attack and storms. But these things are an accepted part of agriculture in this country and most of our rural producers struggle through, often against the odds, and reluctantly call on support from government only when conditions are extreme.

My electorate of New England straddles the Great Dividing Range and includes many small communities and a few larger regional cities and centres. It produces some of the world's finest wool and is a renowned livestock grazing region for sheep and cattle. There are horticultural producers and a fledgling wine industry. These industries are vital to the prosperity of the communities and that makes it vital for the government to provide support in those times of need.

That support goes much further than the farm families who receive it. It filters through to the regional economy and, while farmers accept the tough conditions in which they operate, they find it much harder to work within corrupted world markets for their produce. This is a massive problem and challenge and has caused significant hardship to the rural sector in this country. Unfortunately, there is no easy answer because the sheer scale of the forces at work simply dwarf the resources of Australia.

For example, total support to agriculture in OECD countries in 1998 was $683 billion. Australia's total federal government budget last year was about $166 billion—about a quarter of the amount spent by other countries supporting their farmers. In some countries, levels of support account for over 80 per cent of total income for some commodities, and this means those farmers receive only 20 per cent of their income from the actual sale of their produce. It is not hard to realise the impact this has on Australian farmers who operate with virtually no subsidies whatsoever. It is also not hard to see why the government provides support for farm families during those important times of need.

Under the Farm Household Support Amendment Bill 2000, the Farm Help—Supporting Families through Change initiative is the government's key program for delivering income support to the farm sector. Farm Help is available to low income farm families who cannot borrow further against their assets and who wish to consider their future in the farm sector. Farm Help is a proven effective safety net for farm families if they fall into financial difficulties, and the program helps farmers plan their future on or off the farm.

Since the scheme began in December 1997, nearly 4,600 farm families have received income support, nearly 4,700 professional advice sessions have been attended and nearly 500 farm families have received re-establishment grants. Assistance available through Farm Help is flexible and can be tailored to meet the needs of each farm family.

The program elements include up to 12 months income support at the Newstart allowance rate; professional advice to the value of $3,000 on a wide range of areas to suit individual needs, including financial, legal, business, career or personal advice; and a re-establishment grant of up to $45,000 for those farmers who do make that heart-wrenching decision to leave farming. The government provided funding in the 2000-01 budget to extend all elements of the Farm Help program to 30 November 2003 and for program enhancements.

The enhancements to Farm Help include a retraining grant of $3,500, case management of Farm Help clients and an increase in the net assets threshold for re-establishment grant recipients. The retraining grant will be available to those farmers and their spouses who receive a re-establishment grant. The $3,500 retraining grant will focus on skilled development through accredited training, including vocational training, to assist farmers and their spouses in finding alternative careers to farming. All Farm Help clients will be encouraged to participate in voluntary case management. This will involve the development of an activity plan, which will help provide farmers with a plan of action that is much more closely aligned with their individual needs and circumstances. The development and follow-up of activity plans will be compulsory for non-viable farmers.

The net assets threshold for re-establishment grant recipients, as we have heard here on many occasions today, has been increased for receiving the maximum re-establishment grant from $90,000 to $100,000. This increases the total grant payable to those farmers with net assets of $100,000 from $38,333 to $45,000. The grant will be phased down by $2 for every $3 in assets above $100,000 and the grant will cease to be payable when assets exceed $167,500. But there is no obligation under the Farm Help scheme for farmers to leave the industry. They can receive this assistance and remain on their properties. The improvements to Farm Help will provide eligible farmers with access to quality financial help and advice, irrespective of whether they stay on the land and improve their farming operations or leave to find new careers.

The fact that rural farmers often suffer significant hardship can be hard for many urban people to understand. They can be further confused when some rural people are described as whingeing farmers who are never satisfied. This reveals a serious communications gulf between city and country, although this is not something new. About 100 years ago, Banjo Patterson and Henry Lawson once `fought' a running poetic battle about the merits and struggles of life in the bush. Farmers are often misunderstood because they are naturally cautious in their predictions about seasons, market prices and so on, because they have had their fingers burnt far too often over the years. I urge city people to look past the surface of stories about life on the land and try to understand the reasons that farmers are so passionate about their livelihoods. The simple reason for their ongoing commitment is they love it. They love the early mornings, with the fog low to the ground and their livestock quietly grazing in the distance. They love the fact there are no traffic jams down their dusty roads. They love their independence. Words cannot truly capture their love of the land. The closest I have heard is an extract from the poem My Country, by Dorothea Mackellar:

I think it encapsulates all that we love about the country and people who live there. I am pleased that we have a minister who is very conscious of this, who is a man of the land himself and is be able to bring these sorts of bills to the parliament of Australia to help those who are so necessary and have contributed such a great amount to the building of Australia.