Member for Mallee Dr Anne Webster MP is calling for Labor to bring back interest-free loans for farmers from the Regional Investment Corporation (RIC), impacted by current drought-like conditions.
Dr Webster said farmers across Australia have been simultaneously devastated by record low rainfall, drought and, in other parts of the nation, recent floods.
“I was speaking with affected farmers in Mallee and the Leader of the Nationals and Shadow Agriculture Minister David Littleproud MP in Wodonga on the weekend remembering how, in 2020, the Coalition introduced a two-year interest free period for loans up to $2 million for farmers experiencing hardship during the drought,” Dr Webster said.
“The zero per cent interest rate applied to new and existing drought loans and to refinance existing debt from a farmer’s commercial bank, to give farmers some breathing space, saving them cashflow and giving them time to restock and replant.
Dr Webster said current assistance doesn’t go far enough and farmers would get much-needed reprieve by having access to a $2 million loan with an initial 2-year interest free period, then 3 years interest only, then 5 years principal and interest.
