Landcare funding under threat

Urgent and Important Update - National Landcare Program

Landcare NSW seeks the support of all Landcarers to help retain the Coalition’s election commitment of revitalising Landcare. Local community Landcare input and action is needed to add weight to their lobbying efforts. LNSW has provided the following to help us understand the issue, the implications, and what action we can take.

The issue

There is concern that the Department of Agriculture is currently planning to cut/divert Landcare and sustainable agriculture funding to cover drought payment shortfalls and to find generic savings.

The likely affected areas include:

1. Grants offered but no contracts signed. Grant rounds for which applications have been received but no funding decisions yet made.
2. Unallocated funds (ie future Landcare grant rounds)
3.  NSW is especially vulnerable because its regional bodies allocation was offered only for one year, unlike other states that have signed four year agreements.
4.  NB this affects only the sustainable agriculture side of Landcare support (i.e. pests, weeds, soils, salinity etc), not the environmental side (i.e. threatened species, habitat protection)
5. The former government recently diverted around $100 million over four years to cover drought shortfalls in the 2013-14 budget. This means that already the amount of funding available is small and declining rapidly in each successive year.
6. The incoming coalition government had a prominent and standalone election commitment to revitalise Landcare that included the phrase that “funding levels will be maintained”. This ran in the newspapers under the headlines of no more cuts.
7. The Agriculture Minister is understood to be bringing a drought package to Cabinet on the 12th of November. It is understood that the Landcare funding decisions will be associated with this cabinet discussion.
8.  A concerted social media campaign this week has raised the profile of this issue but this needs to be backed up by real engagement with local MPs to ensure success.

How you can help

LNSW encourages all local groups and individuals to contact their local Federal MPs about this threat to Landcare funding. Contact:

• The Hon Michael McCormack MP, Member for Riverina

http://michaelmccormack.com.au/MeetMichael/Contact.aspx

michael.mccormal@aph.gov.au

• The Hon Sussan Ley MP, Member Farrer, New South Wales

http://sussanley.com/contact/

sussan.ley@aph.gov.au

How to contact your MPs

1. When writing to your MPs, email is fine but remember to include your residential address in your signature block
2. The emails of MPs are firstname.lastname.mp@aph.gov.au
3.  The emails of Senators are………….. senator.lastname@aph.gov.au
4.   Please cc our LNSW regional representative (Glenys Patulny - glenys.p@grapevine.net.au) with any correspondence you may send.

Key Messages to Local MP

1.  We “the X Landcare Group” seek an urgent meeting with you to discuss plans to cut Landcare and sustainable agriculture funding that would breach the coalition’s Landcare election commitment. We understand a decision is imminent.
2. We would rather be building a positive relationship with you and the government, and we thought that the Landcare Election Commitment to revitalise Landcare and maintain funding would have been an opportunity to do just that.
3. We hear the Department of Agriculture is planning drastic cuts to Landcare and sustainable agriculture programs to cover a drought funding shortfall and to seek general savings. We support drought funding but it should come direct from Treasury as exceptional circumstances as it has done for decades, not come at the expense of Landcare.
4. We “the X Landcare group” have achieved so much in this area for our community and for our farm businesses. Landcare is essential for us in getting out R&D information, pest and weed management and soil improvements.
5. Without Landcare support our community loses ... [insert the key things you think your community would lose if there was no Landcare support]
6. We would like you [the MP] to support us in ensuring your government meets it commitment to maintain funding. What do you think you can do for us? [options available to an MP is 1. Make a public statement in support of Landcare 2. Make a private members statement in support of Landcare 3. Make private representations to Ministers’ Hunt or Joyce 4. Pass on your representations (ie letter) 5. Raise it in Party Room meetings]

Any questions please contact our Landcare NSW regional representative - Glenys Patulny Mob: 0411 161 948 glenys.p@grapevine.net.au