Farm labour, water security and new farm equipment for rural Australia targeted in Federal Budget
/The Federal Budget includes billions of dollars for water infrastructure, and an extended instant asset write-off to help rural Australia lead the country out of the COVID-19 recession.
Key points:
- The Federal Budget has committed $2 billion to water infrastructure spending
- Workers who are prepared to go regional for at least 6 weeks could get a relocation payment
The instant asset write-off has been expanded to 99 per cent of all businesses until 2022
But those hoping for a clear plan to address the desperate worker shortage on farms or deal with increasing global trade tensions may be disappointed.
With a forecast labour shortage of almost 30,000 workers this harvest, the Federal Government has committed $17.4 million over two years for relocation assistance.
The money will be spent providing one-off relocation rebates of up to $6,000 for those workers prepared to go regional for at least six weeks.
Industry group, Australian Fresh Produce Alliance, had been seeking a $1,200 relocation payment for both business and employee.
Access to workers for farmers
Farmers who employ young, out-of-work Australians could also benefit from a new Government wage subsidy.
JobMaker will provide employers with $200 a week for each new job created for 16 to 29-year-olds, and $100 a week for any new job created for 30 to 35-year-olds.
To be eligible, the employee must have received JobSeeker, Youth Allowance or Parenting Payment for at least one of three months prior to employment.
JobMaker applies nationwide, but farmers will be hoping it is more successful than the 2017 Seasonal Worker Incentive that encouraged welfare recipients to work on farms.
Loading...Over 18 months that program attracted just 333 workers, falling far short of the 7,600 places it had been expected to fill.
Youth Allowance changes
In this year's Budget, there are also changes to the Youth Allowance eligibility threshold, with $16.3 million allocated over three years to encourage young people to work on farms.
Under the changes, any young person who earns up to $15,000 in agriculture before December 30 next year, will qualify for Youth Allowance.
The Government has also budgeted to waive $275 million, over four years, in visa application fees of temporary visa holders, including backpackers and workers on the seasonal and Pacific worker schemes, due to international border closures.
There is also $9 million over the next three years to ensure the welfare of workers on the Seasonal Worker program, but it is not clear how that will be spent.
Budget backs new equipment
Federal Treasurer Josh Frydenberg has given almost all businesses the chance to deduct the entire cost of eligible assets, such as farm equipment, in the first year of ownership.
The scheme will be available to businesses with a turnover of up to $5 billion, until June 2022.
"A trucking company will be able to upgrade its fleet, a farmer will be able to purchase a new harvester and a food manufacturing business will be able to expand its production line," Mr Frydenberg said.
The Government will also extend the popular instant asset write-off until June next year, allowing farmers to instantly write off machinery and other equipment valued up to $150,000.
Water and drought
Despite a return to better seasons across large parts of Australia, spending on water infrastructure is a significant focus of the 2020–21 Federal Budget.
The Government has scrapped the National Water Infrastructure loans facility, making way for $2 billion of new funding for the National Water Infrastructure Development Fund.
That brings the total fund — which fast-tracks projects such as dams, weirs, pipelines, and water recycling plants by helping states and territories pay for them — to $3.5 billion.
It is part of the Coalition's 10-year plan to see the National Water Grid Authority identify significant projects to help secure water supplies.
This year's Budget includes $50 million for the on-farm emergency water rebate scheme that provides farmers with a rebate of up to $25,000 to clean dams and drill bores, although the funding is contingent on being matched by the states.
While that drought measure continues, the Government has abandoned the Water for Fodder program.
Announced in December last year, it was to spend $100 million using Adelaide's desalination plant to free-up water upstream so that irrigators in the southern Murray-Darling Basin could grow feed for livestock.
The Budget shows almost $50 million was spent on round one of the program, which was expected to deliver 40 gigalitres.
This year's Budget invests $250 million in the Bureau of Meteorology's forecast and warning service.
Exports drive streamlined in Budget
Despite negotiating a new free trade agreement with Indonesia and beginning trade talks on new deals with the European Union and United Kingdom, it was Australia's trade with China that dominated the headlines this past year.
The Budget commits $328 million over four years to "turbocharge" agricultural exports, claiming it will cut red tape and make export approvals more efficient.
The funding includes $222 million to upgrade digital trade services, $14 million for case managers to help exporters expand markets and up to $20 million to support red meat and plant-product exporters.
The Budget also provides $317 million to extend the International Freight Mechanism until the middle of next year, providing flights for Australian exporters to send fresh produce overseas and return with medical supplies.
Barley growers had been seeking a $20 million industry recovery fund after China introduced hefty tariffs earlier this year but have missed out.
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