For more than eight months, some dairy farmers have been trying to access the Farm Household Allowance from Centrelink, which was intended to try to help them through a period of no cash flow.
Indi MP Cathy McGowan, who represents north eastern Victorian, said it was unacceptable dairy farmers were in this situation, and accused the government of negligence it continued to ignore the situation.
«It would be easy to blame Centrelink but Centrelink are a delivery arm of government,» she said.
Ms McGowan said dairy farmers were coming to her office with stories of being rejected by Centrelink.
She said many complained of not having enough money to live and when told of their struggles, Centrelink asked them to apply again.
«These people are just absolutely exhausted after months and months of trying and jumping through all the hoops and getting rejected.
«They’re saying it’s just too hard.»
Ms McGowan’s comments come after the Deputy Prime Minister Barnaby Joyce this week reaffirmed his commitment to stop supermarkets from selling dollar a litre milk.
But Ms McGowan said dollar a litre milk was a distraction, rather than a priority issue.
She said she wanted both government ministers and the dairy industry to focus on the fundamentals of the sector.
«I think it’s really a call to the people in leadership positions in the dairy industry to step forward [and] not just sit back and say ‘this will sort itself out’.
«It won’t just sort itself out.
«They need to stand up and speak up and really help the ordinary Australians understand that this is much more complicated than just the dollar you pay for cheap milk at the supermarket.»
Source: ABC
Link: http://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-01-06/centrelink-dairy-dollar-milk/8165506
