When we heard NSW Agriculture Minister Adam Marshall say last week that "no amount of money could ever wipe out the mice impacting farmers in parts of the state", and that he had no more money to spend after $4 billion of drought aid, we believed him.
Low and behold, just 24 hours later, the Coalition government plucked $50 million out of thin air to help thousands of producers and regional dwellers suffering under the weight of the mouse plague.
Let's not forget, it was announced a day after NSW Farmers' and Country Women's Association of NSW united at Parliament - under the government's own roof - to call on it for a $25,000 mouse bait rebate.
Read Also:
We are certainly not complaining about the lifeline these funds will offer to so many who are at breaking point, in fact the government should be applauded for taking action to support those who are suffering through what the Premier herself referred to as a "natural disaster".
It follows what the government has done in the past three years alone when responding to other disasters such as flood, bushfires and drought.
But the question is, why did it have to play cat and mouse about it?
From laying blame for a missed meeting on the subject with the CWA and NSW Farmers to speaking on Sydney radio about how funding was unlikely to be available, most people in the bush found the government's attitude dismissive.
Yet when the heat was on, the government was able to come through with the funds - well, some of the funds called for.
It's staggering The Nationals didn't word up their Upper Hunter candidate Dave Layzell about the funding, which was announced on Thursday last week, before a meet-the-candidates event hosted by NSW Farmers in Scone on the Wednesday night.
It was the hot-button topic everyone in the room wanted to discuss. It's not the first time the state government has had a knee-jerk reaction to an issue or indulged in a bit of window-dressing.
There was the Sydney to Canberra fast train, the Canberra to Eden train line and the promise of international air freight hubs in the regions to name a few. We're still waiting.
Great ideas, but often announced from the Deputy Premier's office without in-depth detail on implementation. Hopefully the mice control funding doesn't become the latest issue on that list.
- Have your say on the issues reported on in The Land by writing to letters@theland.com.au
Love agricultural news? Sign up for The Land's free daily newsletter.
Billy Jupp
Billy is a Senior Livestock Journalist for the Queensland Country Life based in Toowoomba. He has worked for a variety of different ACM mastheads during the past five years including the Namoi Valley Independent, Northern Daily Leader and The Land.
Billy is a Senior Livestock Journalist for the Queensland Country Life based in Toowoomba. He has worked for a variety of different ACM mastheads during the past five years including the Namoi Valley Independent, Northern Daily Leader and The Land.
