{"id":244945,"date":"2019-09-24T22:47:06","date_gmt":"2019-09-24T12:47:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/southburnett.com.au\/news2\/?p=244945"},"modified":"2020-07-16T16:12:07","modified_gmt":"2020-07-16T06:12:07","slug":"farmers-urged-to-see-centrelink","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/southburnett.com.au\/news2\/2019\/09\/24\/farmers-urged-to-see-centrelink\/","title":{"rendered":"Farmers Urged To See Centrelink"},"content":{"rendered":"
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South Burnett Deputy Mayor Kathy Duff chatted with Centrelink Financial Information Services officer Janine Quinn at the Drought Community Outreach in Kingaroy on Tuesday … Centrelink can help farmers apply for the Farm Household Allowance<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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South Burnett Mayor Keith Campbell (Photo: SBRC)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

September 24, 2019<\/strong><\/p>\n

South Burnett Mayor Keith Campbell is urging more South Burnett farmers to apply for the Farm Household Allowance (FHA).<\/p>\n

Council sponsored a Drought Community Outreach morning at Kingaroy Town Hall on Tuesday.<\/p>\n

The event was attended by representatives from a range of government departments to explain the various supports they can offer to drought-affected primary producers.<\/p>\n

And with the South Burnett looking down the barrel of its third year of being drought-declared, the event was popular. Parking in Glendon Street was at a premium most of Tuesday morning.<\/p>\n

The Mayor believes there are a number of local farmers entitled to the FHA who are not applying for it. <\/strong><\/p>\n

“Some people may not be applying because they think they have too many assets, and some because they’re too proud to take government assistance,” the Mayor said.<\/p>\n

“However, I’d encourage any of our primary producers who are doing it tough to take a serious look at this program.”<\/p>\n

The Mayor urged farmers not to self-assess their eligibility but speak to a rural financial counsellor or Centrelink, who can assist with the application process.<\/p>\n

The Mayor said he had grown up on a farm himself, so he knew from first-hand experience the toll drought can take, both physically and mentally.<\/strong><\/p>\n

“The worst thing about drought is that when you’re in one you never know when it’s going to end, just that it must end at some time.”<\/p>\n

The Mayor said when the current drought finishes, he’d like to see the region’s farms get back to normal production as quickly as possible – for their own sake, and for the local economy’s sake as well.<\/p>\n

If the FHA could help tide a farm over, he hoped more farmers would apply for it.<\/p>\n