PM THINKS DROUGHT IS HIS PLAY THING

The Prime Minister has failed our farmers on day two.

The appointment of climate change denier Barnaby Joyce as his “Drought Envoy” is a joke and a slap in the face for all in the sector who want meaningful drought policy reform. For four years Joyce failed our farmers by destroying drought policy reform and dropping the ball on income support for our farming families.

 

So far the Prime Minister has told us Joyce’s job is to “put his arms around our farmers”. Any further roles remain a mystery. As minister Joyce almost unravelled the Murray Darling Basin Plan settlement, he abolished the key COAG Committee for drought policy reform and declared all we needed to do was build dams. He never built one.

 

To add insult to injury media reports suggest the Prime Minister’s drought tour tomorrow is all about him rather than our drought affected farming families.

 

The “Envoy” position is no doubt designed to allow Joyce to campaign around the country at public expense.

 

Drought is not the Prime Minister’s play thing to be used to keep his enemies at bay nor to improve his image. It’s a very bad start