THE ANNOUNCEMENT
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The Prime Minister has announced additional support for farming families to help them through the drought.
Malcolm Turnbull visited a farm in rural NSW on Sunday Morning accompanied by Deputy Prime Minister Michael McCormick, Agricultural Minister David Littleproud and local member Mark Coulton.
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The announcement included:
- Families on the existing Farm Household Allowance scheme will be provided with two lump sum supplementary payments on September 1 and March 1, 2019.
- Couples in a household will receive up to an additional $12,000 while single households will receive up to $7,200.
- The Government is also raising the FHA threshold cap from $2.6 million to $5 million to make it easier for farmers to access the FHA payment.
- Further funding will also be provided for mental health support. An extra $5 million will be provided for the Rural Financial Counselling Service, while the Government will also invest $11.4 million in mental health support networks including additional funding for Primary Health Networks in drought affected areas and the removal of the requirement that those accessing counselling need to have their first appointment in person.
READ ALSO: Why is it colder and warmer during drought
About twenty-eight per cent of land within the Central West is considered to be in intense drought while the remaining 62.7 per cent is in drought and 8.6 per cent is drought-affected.
More than 98 per cent of NSW is in drought.
Antonia O'Flaherty
Lynn Rayner
I am the editor of the Daily Liberal, Mailbox Shopper, Western Magazine and associated western publications (Wellington Times and Narromine News which are both online only publications). I have been the editor for three years. I have been a journalist for 15 years and was formally the digital specialist for the Western NSW area assisting with digital coverage and growth across 13 mastheads, including the three dailies. Before that I worked as a journalist in Lithgow and Mudgee covering a number of different rounds. I established the social media accounts in Lithgow and took an interest in the digital aspects of the paper. I started my journalism career at the former Myall Coast Nota based as the journalist-in-charge at Tea Gardens while also working part time in Forster as the council reporter for the Great Lakes Advocate.
I am the editor of the Daily Liberal, Mailbox Shopper, Western Magazine and associated western publications (Wellington Times and Narromine News which are both online only publications). I have been the editor for three years. I have been a journalist for 15 years and was formally the digital specialist for the Western NSW area assisting with digital coverage and growth across 13 mastheads, including the three dailies. Before that I worked as a journalist in Lithgow and Mudgee covering a number of different rounds. I established the social media accounts in Lithgow and took an interest in the digital aspects of the paper. I started my journalism career at the former Myall Coast Nota based as the journalist-in-charge at Tea Gardens while also working part time in Forster as the council reporter for the Great Lakes Advocate.
