FEDERAL Agriculture Minister Barnaby Joyce is sitting on a pot of $40 million which should be deployed for emergency drought funding according to the man he replaced, former agriculture minister Joel Fitzgibbon.
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In December, Mr Joyce released a statement announcing the continuation of Labor's Farm Finance package and committed to extend the funding to Tasmania.
In that statement he said "we also have a $40m reserve of funds ready in 2014-15 to allocate to areas of greatest need should conditions change".
Mr Joyce recently toured drought affected regions of NSW and Queensland, telling farmers he would take their concerns to cabinet.
This week Mr Joyce announced he was preparing to bring forward drought measures.
Mr Fitzgibbon said Mr Joyce can release the Farm Finance money now.
"The additional money could flow quickly - and for many farm families every day counts," he said.
"Barnaby Joyce continues to publicly call on his cabinet colleagues to act but one simple act by him would make an additional $40m available immediately."
Under the Farm Finance concessional Loans Scheme, a concessional loan with an interest rate of 4.5 per cent is available for debt restructuring or investment in on-farm productivity enhancement.
A total of $420m is allocated to be divided between the states by 2015.
The loans run for a maximum period of five years, requiring interest-only repayments.
At the end of the five-year concessional interest rate period, the loan funds need to be repaid.
When asked about releasing the $40m immediately, a Department of Agriculture spokesman responded: "The Australian government is committed to ensuring the appropriate support for farmers is available when they need it."
Mike Foley
Senior journalist for The Land.
Senior journalist for The Land.
