Mildura Rural City Council has this week renewed its call for the Victorian Government to take urgent action to support Sunraysia growers devastated by the March rain event earlier this year.
In a letter today to new Victorian Treasurer Colin Brooks, Mildura Mayor Ali Cupper has reinforced Council's call for the Victorian Government to step in and help impacted growers.
Cr Cupper said that five months on, many growers are still counting the cost of the storm event, some reeling from total crop losses and the resulting lack of income.
"For many in our region the March rain event is a distant memory, but for a lot of grape growers I know it is still very real," the Mayor said.
Cr Cupper said that in the days after the March rain event, and after meeting with individual growers and industry representative groups, Council wrote to Victorian Agriculture Minister Ros Spence on their behalf, calling for urgent support.
Council reiterated this call for support for growers last month in a letter to then Treasurer Jaclyn Symes.
The Mayor said while Council was still waiting on the outcome of those requests, the recent Victorian Government reshuffle was an opportunity for Council to renew its request for stronger and immediate support for impacted growers and businesses.
"With this week's appointment of new Treasurer Colin Brooks, we thought it important to ensure our requests for help for our growers were also on the new Treasurer's desk," the Mayor said.
"I've written to Treasurer Brooks today, reiterating our calls for support, and we're hoping he hears the very reasonable case for growers and businesses to receive the help they so desperately need and deserve."
In the letter to the Treasurer, the Mayor asks:
- Why support has not been made available to growers and agricultural businesses impacted by this event
- Whether current eligibility settings or program constraints are preventing an appropriate response
- How relevant departments and agencies can be brought together to resolve those constraints
- what targeted assistance can now be made available to growers still carrying the financial and operational impacts of the March event.
"For some growers, the devastating impacts of the rain event were immediately apparent, but for others it's taken several months to measure the full extent of the losses," Cr Cupper said.
"Unlike other major emergencies such as bushfires, the impacts of flooding on horticulture properties can take time to quantify, which is why the calls for help from growers are now becoming increasingly urgent.
"And these impacts are now flowing through to our broader economy, affecting workers, contractors, transport operators, suppliers and local businesses."
