Govt announces $75,000 grants for primary producers affected by fires

Local farmers and other primary producers who have been affected by the recent bushfires will be able to apply for grants of up to $75,000 to help them get back on their feet, the Federal Government has announced.

The grants were announced by the Federal Government yesterday.

Applications are expected to open in the coming weeks.

The category D assistance, which is the same as that made available to graziers in far north Queensland following last year’s floods, will be available for those in bushfire-affected regions.

The government said farmers would not need to have their primary residence affected by the fire to be eligible for the funding, which will be administered by state governments.

It also said that off-farm income of up to $100,000 would be exempt when assessing eligibility for the grants.

Agriculture Minister Bridget McKenzie said there were 19,000 farming, forestry, and fishing businesses in burned-out areas across the country.

‘It is not just livestock losses,’ Ms McKenzie said.

‘It is oyster sheds on the Clyde River. It’s what’s going to happen to those type of enterprises once the charcoal and ash, after a good rain, ends up in our waterways. It is our Batlow apple farmers. It is our wine industry in the Adelaide Hills, our sheep and beef producers more broadly, and our dairy industry.’

Ms McKenzie said the eligibility criteria for the grants was still being determined.

‘The eligibility criteria will be incredibly simple because our goal is to get cash on the ground to the farmers so they can actually get on with the rebuilding,’ Ms McKenzie said.