Australia’s most trusted rural charity is encouraging farmers to reach out for as­sistance this Farm Safety Week. “This year’s Farm Safety Week theme is ‘in safe hands’,” Rural Aid CEO John Warlters said.

“Rural Aid’s mission is to stand with farm­ers when they need it most. We’re encour­aging farmers to register with Rural Aid, so that our organisation and its passionate donors, can support farmers’ wellbeing and safety with a hand-up.”

Rural Aid’s range of assistance meas­ures help farmers improve their lives and businesses before, during and after disas­ter events – be it drought, bushfire or flood.

“Rural Aid’s mental health and wellbeing team do a fantastic job of heading on-farm to chat with primary producers, at no cost to the farmer,” Mr Warlters said.

Rural Aid’s Mental Health and Wellbeing Manager, Myf Pitcher, said it takes strength to reach out for help.

“We want farmers to treat themselves as their most precious business asset and be open to receiving help with their busy work­load,” Ms Pitcher said.

“Registering with Rural Aid means we can support farmers when they need it, now or in the future, and it helps us support rural communities as well.”

To register, visit www.ruralaid.org.au or call 1300 327 624.

NSW Farmers is reminding employers that minimum award pay and superannuation rates changed from Monday, July 1.

Employers with award-reliant employees were encouraged to review their staff pay rates to ensure they met the applicable minimum rates and conditions and had the relevant documentation in place for pay arrangements that deviate from the award terms.

As part of its Workplace Relations service to members, NSW Farmers publishes Rural Wage Guides for agriculture-related awards every year, so farmers can stay up-to-date on pay rates and impending changes in employment matters.

“Running a farm is no different to running any other business, it’s important to stay up to date with these changes,” NSW Farmers Workplace Relations spokesman Chris Stillard said.

“No matter what industry you’re in, whether you’ve got one worker or 50, make sure you’re prepared.”

The 2024 NSW Farmers Rural Wage Guides are now available for members, outlining the superannuation increase to 11.5 per cent and increases to minimum wage standards, among other guidance.

For more information about the annual wage review, visit Fair Work website. To find out more about the NSW Farmers Workplace Relations service, visit nswfarmers.org.au

Keep the Sheep spokesman Ben Sutherland said the Albanese Government’s live sheep ban bill passing was a disgrace. He emphasised that while the government had ignored regional communities, Keep the Sheep wasn’t going anywhere.

“Albo said when he was elected that he would ‘leave no Australian behind’ – it’s clear that he and his government are happy to ignore farmers, truckies, and people in regional towns,” Sutherland stated.

“If we can’t change the policy, we will change the government,” he said.

Women wanting to increase their leadership skills and contribute to narrowing the gender gap in agriculture still have time to apply for the National Farmers’ Federation flagship Diversity in Agriculture Leadership Program.

The mentorship-based initiative aims to deliver on the NFF’s goal to double the number of women in agriculture’s leadership ranks by 2030 – a goal the industry is well on its way to achieving.

NFF President David Jochinke said the Program had made a significant indent in increasing the number of women on boards, stepping up in their communities and in leadership roles, but there was still more work to be done.

“It’s time to level up the imbalances in gender and take on roles to lead our agriculture forward,” Mr Jochinke said.

The program has alumni across Australia, including Alison Hamilton from Wagga Wagga who said this to potential applicants:

“The opportunity and the ongoing benefit from the learnings of the program are unique. Grab it with both hands and throw your hat in the ring, there is so much to be learned and experienced on many levels. The investment in your time and commitment will pay dividends.”

Mr Jochinke said the program was held up through the support from 31 dedicated partners, including multinational corporations, advocacy bodies and government entities, all who are leading by example in ensuring diverse voices are represented and championed within their organisations.

The Diversity in Agriculture Leadership Program provides 12 women with a retreat in Canberra, a five-month intensive one-on-one mentoring opportunity, graduation ceremony, and the opportunity to join a supportive alumni base of 64 graduates. Applications are open until 5pm, Sunday the 28th of April.

 

Parkes Shire Council will be working together with Forbes and Lachlan Shire Councils to prepare for and build resilience against future droughts, under Round 2 of the Regional Drought Resilience Planning Program (RDRP Program).

The RDRP Program is designed to enable small consortia of local governments and their communities to better prepare for, respond to and recover from drought through community engagement and the development of a tailor-made drought resilience plan.

Regional economies will continue to be impacted by droughts, which are predicted to become more frequent and severe into the future. Regional Drought Resilience Plans will be co-designed with local stakeholders.

Minister for Regional NSW Tara Moriarty says that the expanded program in NSW aims to help agricultural communities forward-plan to prepare for inevitable periods of reduced rainfall.

“This acknowledges each region in NSW is different and requires a tailor-made approach to drought preparedness to be truly effective. Having community-led Regional Drought Resilience Plans will help set them up for success.”

Mayor of Parkes Shire Council, Neil Westcott, said the program provides a unique opportunity for the local agriculture sector, businesses, and the wider community to inform decision-making moving forward.

“In collaboration with our neighbouring local councils, this program allows us to empower a range of stakeholders across our communities to share their experiences and perspectives. This really is crucial for the success and practicality of our drought resilience plan”, Mayor Westcott said.

The project is jointly funded through the Australian Government’s Future Drought Fund and the

NSW Government, and will support selected councils to develop Regional Drought Resilience

Plans and small grants that support implementation of the plans.

Forbes Shire Council is joining forces with Lachlan and Parkes to develop a drought resilience plan for the future. The plan acknowledges that drought events are part of the future of any area reliant on the agricultural sector.

With funding from the Australian and NSW Government under the Future Drought Fund, the project will allow Council to use the learnings from previous droughts and implement an evidence based strategy to assist the community to adapt to or mitigate future drought impacts.

“Working together with neighbouring shires makes a lot of sense for this far-reaching issue” explained Mayor Phyllis Miller OAM.

“The impacts of flood are close to mind now, but we need to be ready for inevitable drought conditions that may just be around the corner. We will again work very closely with our community to make sure that this plan is practical and relevant and grows our already strong resilience.”

The Regional Drought Resilience Planning Program is managed by the Department of Regional NSW and was started as a pilot with three groups of local governments.

Rounds one and two are supporting 59 local Councils and regional areas to prepare 22 regional drought plans. The NSW Model for regional drought resilience planning program involves neighbouring councils working together to develop regional drought resilience plans. These plans will be provided to the CSIRO for independent review and completed plans from across the country will be published on the Australian Government’s Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry website.

“Planning such as this is critical for Council to be able to access funding support for the implementation of these plans”, added Mayor Miller.

“We look forward to working with Parkes and Lachlan on a regional plan that will really make a difference”.

The Albanese Government’s announcement to completely axe the Great Western Highway (GWH) project has been met with great disappointment. 

Upper House MP Sam Farraway has gone ahead and slammed the decision by the Federal Labor government as narrow minded and has called on both levels of government to start standing up for the Central West. 

“The delay for this announcement has seen construction companies lay off staff across the country and with no ability to plan for the future all because the minister wanted to hide behind a fake review rather than come clean on her intentions. 

“The Great Western Highway was not a fantasy. The east and west sections were fully funded and would have made the travel over the mountains substantially safer, quicker and better connecting the east and west of NSW. 

“We’re elected to parliament to serve our communities no matter how they vote. I feel today’s decision was entirely political. NSW has four years until the next election so it’s no surprise that regional NSW had the biggest chunk of projects scrapped. 

“Labor, who are fixated on Western Sydney and have no experience in building road projects have completely taken us back 10 years with the scrapping of this project. I encourage everyone who drives this road regularly to share your thoughts on this decision directly to the local members of Parliament at both state and federal levels.”