But the policy undercuts decades of work by experts and a few principled politicians to encourage farms on the world's driest continent to prepare for and expect droughts.

Myths and exaggerations

Before it started to break down under the 2010-13 Gillard government, national drought policy treated the failure of rainfall as a common, natural phenomenon.

Droughts weren't natural disasters, the policy said. Farmers were encouraged to treat access to water like any other business risk, including livestock and crop prices, currency fluctuations and interest rates.

Still, farmers received major concessions. The tax system was structured to smooth out their income. A class of bank accounts known as farm management deposits was created to allow farmers to avoid income tax until they chose to withdraw their money, a privilege unavailable to other workers.

NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian, Deputy Premier and Minister for Regional NSW John Barilaro, and Minister for Primary Industries Niall Blair offer financial support for farmers this week. Nadine Morton

About $6.6 billion sits in those tax shelters, benefiting an industry that employs just 200,000 people, including shearers, packers and bookkeepers in a national labour market of 12.5 million, according to the Department of Jobs and Small Business.

Farmer-victim narrative


Policymakers know the worst time to decide drought policy is during one. The political temptation is too great; the farmer-victim narrative too powerful.

Under the catchy headline "Silence of the Lambs", one report last weekend described 100 lambs likely to be shot because feed was too expensive, as though the innocent animals would otherwise be destined for lush green fields where they could frolic for the rest of their lives.

When it comes to rural rainfall, definitions have always been fraught. A dairy farmer in Victoria's Western Districts will have a different perspective on what constitutes a dry season than a wheat farmer outside Kalgoorlie.

A sheep farm near Manilla near Tamworth in NSW last month. Farmers say they may have to shoot malnourished lambs. Peter Hardin/ Northern Daily Leader

Drought hyperbole exhibit A: Berejiklian. Even her own public servants don't believe that 99 per cent of NSW is in drought, one of the stated reasons for the $1 billion urban-rural wealth transfer.

"There isn't a single community that isn't feeling the pinch when it comes to the drought," according to Berejiklian. "It's all-pervading all across the state."

The NSW Department of Primary Industries estimates that 51.7 per cent of NSW is in drought. A further 48.1 per cent is what it calls "drought affected", an intermediate stage marked by deteriorating conditions where "production is beginning to get tighter".

"Drought affected" farmers are encouraged by the department to sell animals they don't need, "fine tune" their drought plans, and "monitor conditions". Maybe the bureaucrats should have added to the list: "lobby your local MP for more tax breaks and subsidises".


It has been a dry winter. But the state isn't out of water. NSW's fourth-largest water reservoir, Blowering near Canberra, is at 72 per cent capacity. The Torrumbarry Weir on the Murray River is full.

The Businessman from Snowy River

Experts oppose plans like NSW's, which will cover half the transport costs of livestock, water and feed up to $20,000. Councils will be given money to upgrade roads.

During droughts – ideally before they begin – farmers should reduce their herds and flocks "because prices will be low because animals will be in poor condition," says Canberra University drought-policy specialist Linda Botterill.

Subsidising transport encourages farmers to increase stock at the very time they should be bunkering down and trying to ride out the dry spell. Grazing during droughts is terrible for the land. Hoofed animals damage dry soil, making it harder for farms to recover when the rains return.

Wealthy farmers will benefit. The NSW Rural Assistance Authority confirmed on Wednesday that primary producers who earned $10 million last year could get the money.

Voters don't care. Despite the perennial nature of the debate – scientists have tracked Australian droughts back 500 years – Australians are suckers for a farming sob story.

The empathy is almost universal, and spans all classes and political leanings, Botterill's research has established. Coal miners and journalists, not so much.

This sentiment is testament to the power of Australia's early authors and poets, including the great Banjo Paterson, who established a romantic attachment among broader society for rural life.

The Man from Snowy River's ride is a story still told. But fewer seem to remember that his motivation was the colt from old Regret, which was worth a thousand pound.

Clarification: The last paragraph this article originally referred to Clancy of the Overflow. While Clancy plays a major role in the poem, he is a supporting character to the man from Snowy River.