JobSeeker call from flood-hit industry

TREASURER Jim Chalmers is facing calls to reinstate JobKeeper-like payments to support flood-affected industries.

While state and federal governments have launched flood assistance packages, the support does not extend to businesses indirectly affected by the natural disaster, exposing a gaping hole in recovery efforts.

For ASX-listed dairy and nutritional company, Noumi – formerly known as Freedom Foods – it has faced significant flood-related costs to ensure it continues to process five million litres of milk it collects from Shepparton farmers in central Victoria each week.

But the company cannot recoup some of the costs via a government grant or from its insurer, given its factory has not been inundated.

Chief executive Michael Perich said he also couldn’t request price rises from the supermarket chains, citing the “inflationary environment” that has already led to food processors requesting multiple grocery price hikes.

“We’ve got roads that are under a state of repair, roads that are damaged going into our farms, so that is an issue,” Mr Perich said.

“Milk is an important product and it spoils very quickly if we don’t process it within a short time, within 24 hours. We have had to ship a lot of milk and there are a lot more increased costs around supply chain given the distance products have to go.”

Mr Perich said support needed to extend to bigger employers in flood-affected communities to help them recover from the natural disaster.

He called for similar support to the JobKeeper payments the government made earlier in the pandemic, which even extended to some of Australia’s biggest companies.

Mr Perich said it was too early to calculate how much of a financial hit the company would take.