Federal Member for Parkes and Shadow Assistant Minister for Agriculture Jamie Chaffey has called on the re-elected Labor government to bring back interest-free loans for farmers from the Regional Investment Corporation (RIC), impacted by drought and floods.
Mr Chaffey said farmers across Australia have been simultaneously devastated by recent floods as well as drought.
“In 2020 the Coalition introduced a two-year interest free period for loans up to $2 million for farmers experiencing hardship during the drought,” Mr Chaffey 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.
“It stopped a lot of farms from going bankrupt. It is clear recent rain and drought events are really hurting farmers, which is why I am calling on Labor to revisit this RIC loan product once again.”
Leader of The Nationals David Littleproud has written to Agriculture Minister Julie Collins, requesting support for the thousands of farmers dealing with floods and drought.
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