SHADOW Agriculture Minister Joel Fitzgibbon says there's a "collective shudder" running through rural Australia after this week's announcement the Coalition government is reviewing the Rural Financial Counselling Service (RFCS).
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The service was one of several agricultural related programs listed for the scrap-heap in the pre-budget Commission of Audit, which sought to find major savings and efficiencies throughout government operations.
Last week's budget avoided axing the service, which provides free financial counselling to farmers and rural businesses in tough times.
But Federal Agriculture Minister Barnaby Joyce this week said the program would be reviewed, for the first time since 2004.
National Farmers' Federation (NFF) chief executive Matt Linnegar said the RFCS was not a high cost program but returned "immense value to rural communities" given the agriculture sector deals with two and a half times the volatility of any other business sector, along with complicated taxation, regulatory and trading regimes.
Mr Joyce said in April he asked the National Rural Advisory Council to review the RFCS, to ensure it was working effectively to support farmers and producers.
The Australian government provides grants to 14 not-for-profit organisations to employ suitably qualified rural financial counsellors, with about 120 financial counsellors currently working across Australia.
However, Mr Fitzgibbon warned the review could see the important program axed as per the audit's recommendations.
"This is the worst possible time to be placing doubt over the service and it follows the government's failure to deliver on a key aspect of its drought relief package," he said.
"Barnaby Joyce suggests he can do nothing in agriculture until the completion of his White Paper yet when it comes to threats and cuts, there appears to be no need for delay."
"The review certainly was not talked about prior to the election and will be a surprise to farmers and rural communities more generally adding to the uncertainty that the government may adopt the recommendation by the Commission of Audit, that rural financial counsellors be abolished.
National Rural Advisory Council chairman Mick Keogh said the Commonwealth was reviewing the RFCS as part of the process of making a decision about future funding arrangements.
"My understanding is there's a pile of programs on the table at the moment that will be considered by government and the issue will be for industry to understand that and be able to respond to the importance and achievements of those programs," he said.
Asked if the RFCS was a valued program worth continuing, Mr Keogh said, "that's what the review is all about".