Latest news with #Mallee
ABC News
3 days ago
- Business
- ABC News
Drought-affected SA farmers call for no or low-interest loans rather than 'a handout'
Drought-affected farmers under increasing financial stress are calling for access to low or no-interest loans to help keep their businesses afloat. Emily Morgan, a farmer from Jabuk in SA's Mallee region, said while the government could not make it rain, it could provide low-interest rate loans to help in the short term. "We're not asking for a handout … or free money," she said. "[Even with a] two to three per cent low interest loan we'd be able to borrow some money in the short term to help us get through this really difficult period." Ms Morgan said these funds could be used to buy fodder or fertiliser, or keep staff employed. And it would go a long way in easing the mental load. It follows an announcement that the federal government will funnel an extra $2 million into the Rural Financial Counselling Service and host a national drought forum in South Australia later this year. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese visited a farm north of Adelaide on Monday to announce the funding which follows an $800,000 commitment last week for financial counselling service providers in SA and Victoria. "This extra funding will allow the financial counselling service to employ more financial counsellors [and] deliver more support to people on the ground," the prime minister said. South-east farmer George Kidman welcomed funding for financial counsellors but said farmers needed immediate support from lenders. "I think it would be remiss of us to not say 'thank you' and anything we can get to help fellow farming families is very welcome," Mr Kidman said. "But I'd love to feel like our governments are putting pressure on the financial lenders on what can they actually do for us now in terms of interests rates and providing real relief now and going into the future." Like many producers across drought-affected areas, Mr Kidman has been spending vast amounts on purchasing feed for his livestock while waiting for rain. "The extra cost has been massive. Over the past two years our supplementary bill has been bigger than it's ever been," he said. "That's where all our finances are going — into the livestock." Southern Mallee cropper and grazier of more than 40 years Richard Howard said he was disappointed to only see more money for financial counselling. "I think the money needs to be put into the grass roots, with interest rate subsidies and things like that, because that's where people are really struggling," he said. "All people talk about is that the bills roll in, there's not much income, and you've got to keep paying them. "Most people have been to the banks and sought the go-ahead for the season, but it doesn't make it any easier. Drought-affected farmers are able to access low-interest loans from the Australian government's specialist farm business lender, the Regional Investment Corporation (RIC). New RIC loan applications from SA farmers have more than doubled in 2025 compared to the same time last year. National Farmers Federation president David Johinke said adequate funding for the RIC was critical, and that the current interest rates and terms needed a reset. "Its funding is uncertain after the end of financial year, next year, and then also the criteria of getting that funding on the ground is something we want reviewed urgently," Mr Johinke said. Federal Agriculture Minister Julie Collins said the government was considering feedback it had received from farmers around challenges accessing the Farm Household Allowance and RIC loans. "I don't want to rule anything in or out at this point," she said. "This is about actually listening carefully to the impacts of the support that is available and what additional support may be needed, and what we might need to do in terms of the existing supports."
ABC News
26-05-2025
- Climate
- ABC News
Mildura 'battens down the hatches' as dust storm takes over
Mildura residents are navigating an orange haze as a dust storm sweeps over the regional Victorian city. Police are directing traffic across town, as it gets harder for motorists to see. Real estate agent Katrina Wootton said while it was not that unusual for Mildura, it was the first dust storm in a while. "The Mallee dust is just rearing its ugly head today," Ms Wootton said. "We're quite used to it, you know, close all the windows and batten down the hatches. Emergency Services are warning people in the area to stay indoors, close their windows and shut their doors. If indoors, they advise people to set air conditioners to recirculate air and to cover your nose and mouth with a mask or damp cloth. "I've been wearing my sunglasses all day even though it's quite dull to keep the dust out of the eyes," Ms Wootton said. "I thought it was going to miss us … but it's getting progressively worse and worse." ABC Statewide Drive listeners texted in to the program and said in Colignan, visibility was reduced to 400 metres. While in Red Cliffs, Sue Eason told the ABC the sky had turned from red to black. "If we look out we can see vineyards … [but] we can only see the first row," Ms Eason said. "My car is blue but it's brown. "Outside we'll have to blow a lot of things down tomorrow." Parts of South Australia have also experienced dust storms as wild weather hits the state.
ABC News
24-05-2025
- Business
- ABC News
Grain growers face costly nightmare of 'clumped' fertiliser
A farmer in Victoria's north-west has taken extreme measures to salvage his stored fertiliser by smashing six silos worth $150,000 to the ground so that he can use it. Terry Kiley had hundreds of tonnes of fertiliser stored in silos on his farm in the Mallee ready to go for this year's winter crops. But when he went to use it, it was stuck together. "We just couldn't shift it," he said. "We tried vibrating (the silo) and drilling holes in the cones of the silos but it wouldn't run out, so we've pushed three [silos] over to get it out, and we've got another three we're deciding what to do with. Peak grower organisation Grain Producers Australia (GPA) said it had received numerous reports of fertiliser quality problems this season. "Our members have certainly raised concerns about the quality of product," said GPA chief executive Colin Bettles. "We're looking at what options we have to take action on it and we're engaging with [industry group] Fertilizer Australia." Mr Bettles urged affected farmers to document the problems and speak to their suppliers. Suppliers warn farmers against storing fertiliser in silos, given the risk it can set hard, instead advising them to store it in sheds. But manufacturers still market fertiliser-specific silos, and many farmers buy them because they are cheaper and more practical. Mr Kiley's fertiliser was imported by Koch Fertiliser Australia. He contacted the company to report the problems but said he was frustrated by their response. "The blend we ran into issues with we've been using [without problems] for probably 25 years," Mr Kiley said. "It's got to be a quality issue, but they just cover their arse by telling you not to store it in silos." In the NSW central west at Forbes, grain grower Jarrod Amery has had endless headaches handling fertiliser this sowing season. "We had one particular load that was a shocker," he said. He said he believed the underlying issues were twofold — high moisture and a lot of fine particles. Not only has the fertiliser destroyed his silo it's also blocking up his air seeder. "We're only getting three or four hectares of sowing done and the rollers are starting to block up, so it's been a challenge," he said. Mr Amery's fertiliser was also imported by Koch Fertiliser Australia. When he first went to the company about the problems, he said he was told his issues were isolated. "Well I pushed pretty hard on that," he said. Koch Fertiliser Australia declined ABC Rural's request for an interview to discuss the concerns. In a statement, managing director Ross York confirmed it had received reports about issues with its products. But he reiterated that farmers were advised not to use silos for fertiliser. "As stated on our label and our website we encourage farmers not to store bulk fertilisers in field bins or silos," he said. "The hygroscopic nature of these products can prevent their free-flowing and may lead to the collapse of the field bin or silo." According to Fertilizer Australia about 5.4 million tonnes of fertiliser is used in Australia each year. Some is manufactured in Australia and the rest is imported from overseas including China, the Middle East, Morocco and South America. Fertilizer Australia's executive manager Stephen Annells backed Koch's position about on-farm storage for fertiliser. "We've always held a very strong position that we recommend fertiliser shouldn't be placed in silos and really that growers do that at their own risk," he said.
The Guardian
08-05-2025
- Politics
- The Guardian
The red wave: see how every booth changed in this detailed map of the 2025 Australian election
The federal election has given Labor a majority in the House of Representatives, and there are still 12 seats where the result is undecided as of the time of writing. Beyond electorates, it's possible to get an even more detailed picture of the geographic trends by mapping results at the polling booth level. This approach reveals some potentially surprising results, such as the high Greens vote in Halls Gap, in the electorate of Mallee – an electorate which otherwise overwhelmingly voted for the Nationals. It also shows the spread of the independent vote, which continues to grow as the major-party vote declines, and which parts of the country swung hard for Labor. You can see the remote areas like Bamaga and Kowanyama in the Queensland electorate of Leichhardt have some of the biggest swings in the country. To map this data we've taken the primary vote result and mapped it to a Voronoi diagram based on polling place locations. This process creates a region for each polling place based on its location and the location of other polling places. You can read more about the technical details below. The initial view is coloured by the party with the highest primary vote in that area, and you can also view the map by specific parties using the drop-down menu. This first map shows a side-by-side view of the 2025 election results and 2022 results: In this map, you can use the drop-down menu to see the results beyond who had the highest primary vote and show the primary vote for each party: The maps use Voronoi regions generated from polling booth locations, which are then clipped by electorate boundaries. Only votes that are made at a polling booth with a physical location are shown in this map, which excludes postal and phone voting. We're also excluding pre-poll voting centres as these often overlap with election-day voting booths.
