Senator SANDY MACDONALD (12:46 PM) —The Rural Adjustment Amendment Bill 1998 gives effect to the Farm Business Improvement Program, or FarmBis, announced in September 1997 as part of the government's Agriculture—Advancing Australia package. This so-called AAA package includes a range of measures to help Australian farmers get on the front foot and stay there.

These measures include farm management deposits, which encourage farmers to invest up to $300,000 to allow for economic and seasonal downturns; a revamped drought and emergency assistance program; farmer access to a wider range of welfare assistance; an opportunity for farmers to access the pension and retire, handing on the farm to the next generation—this addresses the often difficult topic of family farm succession; and a new emphasis on training and business skills through the Farm Business Improvement Program, which is what this legislation is about. FarmBis has been designed to help all those involved in farming, including employees, to build on their existing skills, improving profitability, sustainability and competitiveness.

Research conducted by the National Farmers Federation has shown that there are strong links between education and training and the levels of productivity. Profitability and innovation achieved by individual farmers require these sorts of initiatives. Australian farmers do have a culture of continuous improvement, evidenced by the popularity, amongst other things, of farm field days—the Henty days, the Mudgee small farm field days and, of course, Gunnedah's very well attended Agquip. Farmers embrace new ideas like whole of farm management planning, which is one of the things that is becoming more and more popular.

The FarmBis scheme will operate for three years from the 1998-99 financial year at a cost of $50 million. It was developed following the findings of the McColl report and extensive consultation with the states, territories and farmer groups. It replaces the Rural Adjustment Scheme. FarmBis's emphasis is on delivering training tailored to the needs of local farmers. Consequently, assistance under FarmBis will be taken from the direct financial contribution towards the cost of training activities. Activities to be supported include farm performance benchmarking, skills development such as rural leadership, quality assurance, risk management, marketing, natural resource management and farm business, and financial planning and advice.

Convenience is also an important factor, a point made repeatedly during the consultations throughout the program's development. The average farmer in my home state of New South Wales does not have time to pore over books, journals and computer programs—no farmer does. Nor does he or she have hours of free time to travel off-farm for courses and seminars. Through FarmBis, the coalition is promoting continuous learning by making training much more accessible. The pressure will be on training providers—either private or state agencies—to better meet the needs of farmers. We expect that state agencies, industry, local farmers and community groups will work together to achieve that goal.

Local coordinators will take responsibility for the further development of farmers in their area who want to take part in activities under the FarmBis framework. This bill funds activities on two levels—a state component and a national component. The state component will fund state training priorities as determined by state planning groups. Funding will be shared on a fifty-fifty basis between the Commonwealth and the state. The national component will fund cross-border projects and national industry initiatives—examples include the national pig industry initiative and the chicken meat benchmarking study.

This is a practical bill which has the best interests of the people on Australia's 145,000-odd farming enterprises at heart. It acknowledges the differing needs of farmers in each of the states and territories and acknowledges that ongoing training for farmers is vital. But it must be structured carefully to ensure participation by farmers of all different categories and varieties. I commend this bill to the Senate.