Leader of The Nationals WA Shane Love MLA has called on the Cook Labor Government to urgently fund the transport of donated hay to struggling northern pastoralists after a volunteer charity was forced to halt deliveries due to lack of funding.
Farmers Across Borders has suspended hay and fodder deliveries to pastoralists across the north despite having more than 4,000 bales of donated feed ready to go, after running out of funds to cover transport costs.
Mr Love said the situation was deeply concerning, with pastoralists across the Gascoyne facing serious feed shortages and growing animal welfare risks.
“Today’s fuel crisis has exacerbated an already dire situation for pastoralists in the Gascoyne. These producers do not have the luxury of waiting,” he said.
“Farmers Across Borders has already delivered 26 truckloads of hay to northern pastoralists doing it tough, but the organisation has now run out of funds to keep those trucks on the road,” Mr Love said.
“There are more than 4,000 donated bales ready to go, but without support for transport they simply cannot reach the farmers who desperately need them.”
Mr Love said rising fuel prices were placing enormous pressure on transport costs, particularly for deliveries into remote northern regions.
“There is also real uncertainty about whether trucks making these long journeys will even be able to access enough fuel to get back,” he said.
Mr Love said his office, the Shire of Upper Gascoyne and Farmers Across Borders had all written to Agriculture and Food Minister Jackie Jarvis MLC seeking urgent assistance, but those calls had been ignored.
“This is a volunteer organisation stepping up to support pastoralists through one of the driest periods in living memory, yet the State Government has refused to provide even modest assistance to help transport donated feed,” Mr Love said.
Shadow Minister for Agriculture Lachlan Hunter MLA, who recently visited the affected pastoral areas, said other states already provide transport subsidies for hay deliveries during drought, recognising the importance of protecting animal welfare and supporting regional industries, and WA Government must do the same.
“If the Minister genuinely cares about animal welfare, she must provide practical and immediate support, including paying for fodder deliveries and freight assistance to move donated feed north.
“Our pastoralists are doing everything possible to manage extraordinarily difficult conditions. They need a government prepared to stand with them, not one that ignores their calls for help.
“The Cook Labor Government must act now and fund the transport of this donated feed before this situation escalates into a full-blown animal welfare catastrophe.”