Farmers In 3 Australian States Seeing Lowest 2-Year Rainfall Totals Ever; Towns Starting To Collapse

[hatrack]

CHRIS UHLMANN: It's being described as a once in a 100 year drought. Parts of New South Wales and large swaths of western Queensland and Victoria have chalked up the lowest rainfall on record over the past two years. The Abbot Government is preparing to re-allocate $100 million in low interest loans to farmers in the worst affected areas. Brent Finlay is the president of the National Farmers' Federation and he joins me now from Darwin.

CHRIS UHLMANN: Brent Finlay, can you give us a sense of where the drought is biting and how farmers are faring?

BRENT FINLAY: Certainly. The western districts of Victoria are, they're rapidly sliding into drought. But northern New South Wales and over 75 per cent of Queensland is in drought and has been in drought for three years, approaching the fourth year.

CHRIS UHLMANN: Are people leaving farms?

BRENT FINLAY: Oh, certainly. And we're starting to see communities starting to collapse. Now I've done a number of tours through western Queensland, northern New South Wales, and no, it's tough out there. It's certainly tough on the people that are there.

CHRIS UHLMANN: And how are the private banks treating people at the moment? We've heard complaints in the past.

BRENT FINLAY: Well, we had a debt summit in Canberra a month ago and there was discussions around that and certainly around banks approaching drought-stricken farmers, and also talking about a national debt mediation process so we actually have some checks and balances around when unfortunately our businesses get into trouble.

EDIT

http://www.abc.net.au/am/content/2014/s4121741.htm

[Turbineguy]

1. Maybe they should ask

Senator Inhofe for some clever ideas.

[dixiegrrrrl]

2. Poor Australia has little rain in GOOD years.

It is important I think to be hearing about these global problems, and realize it is just not No. America facing climate issues.

Scary.

corrected typo,