ROUND Two of an $18 million program aimed at assisting farmers has closed less than a week after the opening of applications was announced.
Federal Member for Parkes Mark Coulton has labelled the Labor Government’s On Farm Connectivity Program as disingenuous, with the insincere application process for grants creating frustration and heartache among the farming community.
Round one, worth $15 million, had previously been given a six-month timeframe.
“Something isn’t adding up and Labor needs to explain the process,” Mr Coulton said.
“This program is crucial for giving rebates to farmers, to aid with monitoring livestock, improving efficiency in water use and improving soil quality through smart farming.”
The program is part of the Better Connectivity Plan for Regional and Rural Australia initiative and aims to assist primary producers take advantage of digital agribusiness solutions to boost productivity, improve safety and drive more sustainable farming practices.
But according to a Federal Government website, funding “has now been exhausted and the round has closed to new applications”.
Mr Coulton said he’s disappointed to hear many farmers in his electorate have missed out on rebates.
“It’s baffling how $18 million worth of rebates can be exhausted in less than one week,” Mr Coulton said.
“It’s obviously proven to be a very popular program, but unless you knew about round two opening, you would have had no chance of taking part.
“I’ve heard from a few suppliers in my electorate who have been frustrated by this process, which they said was time consuming and complicated. They were only notified of the opening of round two on the morning applications opened and then had to do a lot of work to help clients and customers apply.
“Suppliers have told me many growers missed out because it was too hard for them to apply, while others had spent all day filling out the application, only to discover by the time they completed it the website had shut down and the program had closed.
“This process needs to be reassessed to ensure it’s fair for everyone. I do hope that there were many farmers in my electorate who were successful, but there were certainly people who missed out.”
