The South Australian government has established a drought relief funding package for the many farmers pushed to the brink by one of the state’s driest years on record. Places including Maitland on the Yorke Peninsula and Wirrabara Forest in the Southern Flinders have had the lowest rainfall since records began.
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00:00South Australia's Premier Peter Malinowskis has announced an extra $55 million will be
00:07delivered to help drought-stricken farmers cope with one of the most devastating dry
00:12spells on record. Large parts of the state haven't experienced decent rain since around
00:17September and October last year, and back then many farmers were already experiencing
00:23one of their driest seasons. Over in the Adelaide Hills and the Fleurieu Peninsula, the lack
00:28of rainfall has dried up dams and waterways, leaving farmers and households who aren't
00:33connected to mains water struggling. To cope, some of those residents are showering at local
00:38football clubs, going without basics like clean clothes, and some are being forced to
00:42sell their livestock. And as a result, water carters have been facing unprecedented demand.
00:48Then just last week, a new report showed the drought is also impacting Adelaide's water
00:52supply, with the city's reservoirs now at their lowest levels in decades. The state
00:57government has been under increasing pressure to do more for the agriculture sector as this
01:02drought drags on. It did previously announce an $18 million drought support package back
01:08in November, so today's announcement brings the total drought assistance funding to around
01:13$73 million. We have not seen dryness like this in South Australia for as long as records
01:19have been kept. Whether you're in the southeast, whether it be the York Peninsula, Eyre Peninsula,
01:23the Mid-North, the Mallee, you name it, we are dry. And that necessitates, I think, government
01:31stepping in and showing support. We know that a lot of farmers have been calling for interest-free
01:36or low-interest loans to help with the cost of bringing in feed and water. The Premier
01:41says today's package has been designed in direct consultation with primary producers
01:46and includes immediate financial support as well as mental health supports. A large portion
01:52of today's package, around $17 million, will also go towards future drought preparedness
01:58and resilience programs, and the government says that this funding will be available in
02:03the coming weeks.