Steph Cooke MP at Parliament House.
Member for Cootamundra, Steph Cooke addressed NSW Parliament last Thursday about the need for a drought preparedness strategy. Steph emphasised the need for a plan as Regional Australia faces hardships especially within the agricultural area and the fry winter ahead.
She said, “While rain might be falling here in Sydney, conditions are very different across the south of the state. Across the Cootamundra electorate, drought has taken hold. At the end of April, the New South Wales DPI formally declared drought across much of our region.
“For many farmers, this came as no surprise. They’ve already begun shipping in water and fodder. With feed costs high, markets are being flooded with livestock.
On May 5 and again on May 13, a staggering 8,700 head of cattle went under the hammer at the Wagga Livestock Marketing Centre, described as unprecedented, a record few would wish to see repeated.
This is what drought looks like. It creeps in, stripping paddocks bare, draining dams and bank accounts, and exhausting people to the core.
“Unlike flood or bushfire, there’s no warning on the HazardsNear Me app. No one rushes in with hoses or sandbags, and still, our farmers are expected to bear the burden until it becomes politically convenient to act. We have an opportunity to change that.
“We cannot keep responding to disasters by waiting for them to break us. We must continue to shift from response and recovery to mitigation and preparedness. As a state, we’ve already begun that shift in other disaster contexts, in a multi-partisan, non-political way.
“The creation of the New South Wales Reconstruction Authority in November 2022, with its own act, was one of my proudest achievements as the then Minister for Emergency Services and Resilience and Flood Recovery. It followed years of devastating floods, fires, and storms. And we don’t have to look too far to see what’s possible.
“In Queensland, the QRA is regarded as nation leading, with the authority funding and whole of government focus needed to drive long term resilience. It’s time for drought to be treated in the same way, not as an exception, but a recurring risk requiring the same level of coordination, investment, and forward thinking. I listened closely to Minister Janelle Saffin’s flood recovery update during question time today. She said, we cannot just keep doing recovery. We have to do resilience. We have to turn it around. She’s right, and it’s a sentiment long shared.
“As I’ve often said since the Productivity Commission’s 2014 Inquiry, we spend 97cents in every dollar on post-disaster recovery and only three cents on mitigation and preparedness. This imbalance demands a strategic shift, and one, we are beginning to see that change.
“We know the value of co-design and the importance of all three levels of Government working with communities to deliver practical place-based solutions. In the Northern rivers, 36 projects are being delivered unde rthe $152 million Commonwealth Recovery and Resilience program, small community driven initiatives that make a big difference. Drains, pumps, raised bridges, awareness tools, modest but impactful investments.
“Our farmers are doing their part…..But you can’t store what doesn’t grow, and right now, what crops are in the ground are at risk.
“Many in my electorate already need immediate relief, including transport subsidies for stock, water, and fodder. But more than that, we need a coordinated, well-funded, long-term drought preparedness strategy that builds infrastructure and powers community strengthened resilience. A New South Wales Fodder Reserve Initiative is well worth considering.
“The Premier, Minister for Agriculture and Minister Saffin are welcome to visit the Cootamundra Electorate to hear directly from producers about the pressures they are under, from input costs to the emotional toll of waiting for rain that may not come. Above all, we must recognise that drought, like any other natural disaster, requires a serious, structured, and sustained response.
“For many parts of New South Wales, the next drought is already here, but it’s not too late. We can rethink our approach, back our farmers and communities with the urgency and seriousness we would for any other emergency. By preparing now, the task of rebuilding is not surmountable, not insurmountable later.”
-Jack Murray
The South West Slopes Times covers an area approximately the size of Fiji in country NSW. We look after a population of more than 50,000 people with our staff servicing 7 major towns and dozens of villages with our story telling footprint.
We offer weekly print editions at $3 a copy and we also offer digital subscriptions across 3 months $30, 6 months $60 and 12 months $120.
We are one of the last truly local independent family run newspaper businesses in the state.
Contact us today to find out how we can promote your business or organisation across our huge network by emailing ads@thetimes.net.au or by calling 0413 763 216.
If you have a news tip, lead or scoop for us please make contact as we love celebrating our communities. You can contribute articles via our South West Slopes Times website.
