Primary producers to help establish drought tool
A drought resilience self-assessment tool is one of eight foundational programs announced under the Federal Government’s $5-billion Future Drought Fund to build drought resilience.
A government tender process completed in December last year led to Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu winning a tender to establish the tool.
A team of leading risk advisory and
IT specialists will now work closely with farmers in its design.
Federal Agriculture Minister David Littleproud said while farmers were highly skilled at managing climate variability, the intensity and frequency of drought was a challenge that required additional support.
“The tool will enable farmers to self-assess their resilience against a range of environmental, economic and social indicators, as well as identify their future risk exposure under climate scenarios,” he said.
“It will assist farmers to make climate-smart business decisions and identify management approaches that can improve their resilience to drought.
“The tool will be delivered through pilots, with a prototype for extensive end user testing expected mid-year.”
Deloitte will work closely with primary producers to co-design the tool to make sure it is fit-for-purpose and delivers actionable insight.
“Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu is a global leader in climate-risk advisory, scenario analysis, economics and digital innovation, including digital-decision support,” Mr Littleproud said.
“It has significant experience providing analysis and advice to Australian agribusinesses.”
The Future Drought Fund provides secure, continuous funding for drought-resilience projects.
The fund will provide $100-million available annually to help farmers and communities to prepare for, and develop resilience to, the impact of drought.
The Federal Government is cracking down further on people who flout biosecurity laws, introducing legislation that gives courts the use of higher penalties to reflect the seriousness of non-compliance.
Agriculture Minister David Littleproud said the Biosecurity Amendment – Strengthening Penalties – Bill 2021 was about sending a message to individuals and companies who put Australia’s $61-billion agriculture industry and more than $1-trillion in environmental assets at risk by contravening the Biosecurity Act 2015.
“The clear message is you could cop jail time and a bigger fine of up to $1.11-million for major breaches when this legislation is passed by the parliament,” he said.
“Our biosecurity system protects our agriculture, tourism and other industries, plant and animal health, the environment, and our market access – they are necessary to allow us to trade and for our nation to continue to thrive.
“The Australian government is continually reviewing the effectiveness of the Biosecurity Act to respond to these sorts of threats.
“This new legislation is just one part of a suite of changes that I am driving to protect Australia from people who are determined not to comply with biosecurity requirements.”