7 years ago
CHAOS AND CONFUSION REIGNS IN THE AGRICULTURE PORTFOLIO
THE HON. JOEL FITZGIBBON MP
The Agriculture and Water Resources portfolio is in a state of chaos and confusion.
A seemingly simple announcement such as the 27 recipients of the Leadership in Agricultural Industries is nowhere to be found, except for mentions in rural media which were fortunate to be dropped the story prior to Barnaby Joyce being struck out.
What we know so far is; $500,000 has been granted for a new Cattle industry body, $450,000 for the Sheepmeat Council and $187,430 for WoolProducers Australia.
A cynical punter might draw the conclusion that the funding announcement to the peak red meat and sheep industry bodies is a sweetener as Barnaby Joyce hits the campaign trail.
The $5 million Leadership funding was first announced during the 2016 election, the application process opened 5 April and closed 17 May 2017. But it took till the day of the High Court decision for (some of) the successful applicants to be announced.
The Agriculture Minister’s website is unable to be accessed.
The Agriculture and Water Resources department media centre has no information about the 27 successful leadership funding applicants.
The Leadership in Agricultural Industries funding website has not been updated.
So who are the other 24 successful applicants? The new Agriculture Minister must make this information public today.