Media Release

KAP Leader and Federal Member for Kennedy Bob Katter today called on the Federal and State governments to do much more to help farmers across Australia who are suffering from crippling levels of debt.

Media yesterday reported that the Minister for Agriculture had hinted changes would be made to the Federal Government’s concessional loans scheme for drought-affected farmers meaning up to $100 million in loans that have not been taken up could be re-allocated and interest rates dropped to just over three per cent over the next 10 years.

However Mr Katter today said  $100 million is almost ridiculously irrelevant to the size of the problem.

“Three of my close friends have recently been sold up by the banks owing nearly $30 million between them.

"A Catholic priest in one small town in Queensland has stated that 46 stations are being foreclosed near Longreach.

“The Reserve Bank interest rates are currently at 2.5 per cent. The proposal is for further loans to be offered at over three per cent.

"To date the LNP has set the concessional loan rate at 4.5%.

“Farmers are already suffering crippling levels of debt and they cannot afford to take on any more," Mr Katter said. 

"They are already living on overdrafts on top of their existing loans. They will never be able to pay off these levels of debt."

Mr Katter believes the current concessional loans scheme has proven to be completely ineffective.

“Out of the $320m drought package issued by the LNP Government and the $420m issued by the ALP Government as of August only $39.669m has been granted.

"The applications for the concessional loans are too restrictive. Only 214 farmers even bothered to make an application.

“On a supply side, we will have an increase in demand for cattle over the next 18 month period.

"We cannot remain silent whilst the banks seem to be selling up a farmer every few days. The people that are buying these farms are going to get 100 per cent benefit and the people that are selling are going to be bankrupt.

“It has come to the point where the Government must intervene or we must stand up,” Mr Katter said.

“It has come to the point where, if banks want to foreclose, we will fly in the media, we will have a banner that reads out the name of the bank that is foreclosing. We will have scenes of women and children crying as they are dragged from their homes.

“Rob Katter, State member for Mount Isa, is calling a crisis meeting with banks in Winton in order to air the situation.

“We hope that people are not too scared to come along to the meeting. We say to these people, what have you got to lose? Look at what they’re doing to your neighbours. What you’re going to lose is generations of sacrifice,” Mr Katter said.

In 2013 Mr Katter introduced into Parliament the Reserve Bank Amendment (Australian Reconstruction and Development Board or ARDB) Bill 2013 to ensure the sustainability of Australian agriculture, by taking over eligible bad debt from commercial banks at discounted value and offering farmers refinancing at interest rates lower than commercial lenders.

“For all of Australian history, Governments have set up Reconstruction Boards, which is a corporation authorised to prudentially borrow money and loan it out to farmers.

"Reconstruction boards have historically loaned the money at two per cent as well as taken over the bank loan at a discounted figure of between 25-30 per cent.

"But the option of a reconstruction board has been put before State and Federal Governments, ad nauseum, a thousand times.

“This is the first time in Australian history where a crisis of this size has arisen, without the remotest effort to put in place a reconstruction board. At a two per cent loan and with a 25 per cent write off the balance of debt, 95 per cent of the farmers will pull through”, Mr Katter said.