THE WA Government has offered to give $5 million of its money to help farmers in the south eastern Wheatbelt, providing the Federal Government offers double this amount.
The farmers are feeling the effects of three seasons blighted by frost and droughts and are believed to have suffered lost earnings of $2 billion which, in turn, hurts the small businesses that supply them.
The State’s money will come from its part of the Rural Business Development Corporation’s trust fund.
The Government wants Federal Agriculture Minister Warren Truss to contribute $10 million from the RBDC number two trust account he controls.
This proposal is a response to the Commonwealth’s refusal to extend boundaries for Exceptional Circumstances assistance to include the entire shires of Lake Grace, Kulin, Dumbleyung, Kent, Gnowangerup, Jerramungup, Ravensthorpe, Kondinin, Narembeen and the southern tip of Yilgarn Shire.
Earlier this year it offered to spend $31.5 million on the Shire of Lake Grace and parts of Kulin, Dumbleyung, Kent, Gnowangerup, Jerramungup and Ravensthorpe.
