Council to roll out rate relief to drought-stricken farmers

Published on 28 November 2019

Councillors last night gave the green light for $420,000 in Victorian Government drought relief funding to be applied directly to drought-stricken farmers’ rates in the Millewa/Carwarp area.

The rate relief will be applied to 253 broad acre dryland farm rate assessments and is expected to be delivered before the end of the year.

Councillors last night also endorsed a plan to reallocate $250,000 in funding from the same Victorian drought relief package – the Local Government Service Support Program - initially designated for infrastructure projects.

If approved by the Victorian Government, this reallocated funding would be added to the existing $420,000 for rate relief, bringing the total to $670,000.  Council is hoping to receive confirmation in coming weeks.

Mildura Mayor Simon Clemence said last night’s decisions followed consultation with drought-affected farmers in the Millewa/Carwarp area, who indicated rate relief was a priority for them.

“Speaking directly to our farmers in the Millewa/Carwarp area, two things became abundantly clear. Firstly, they’re doing it extremely hard at the moment due to the ongoing drought, and secondly, help in paying their rates would be of the most assistance,” Cr Clemence said.

The Mayor said while this would provide some relief to Millewa/Carwarp farmers, Council was aware of broader reaching impacts of the drought.

“The longer this drought continues, the more widely we’re going to see the impacts across our region,” Cr Clemence said.

“Right now it’s our Millewa/Carwarp farmers, however we anticipate seeing other farming areas within our municipality begin to suffer similarly in coming months and we certainly encourage them to contact us if they need support.”

For more information please contact Council’s Customer Service Team on (03) 5018 8100.

Media enquiries  Ben Piscioneri p) (03) 5018 8689  e) [email protected]