Australia now a land of drought, says Turnbull
Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull has said his country must realize it is the "land of drought and flooding rains" after he promised more cash to struggling farmers.
Farmers affected by a sustained lack of rain are to receive an additional one-off payment of 12,000 Australian dollars ($8,870) as they battle with failing crops and spiraling feed costs. The total drought relief package from the federal government will cost taxpayers 576 million Australian dollars.
The state government of New South Wales has already promised to pay out more than 1 billion Australian dollars to the rural community, reports CNBC.
Turnbull told a local radio station Monday that the Australian Bureau of Meteorology was calling the dry weather "the worst drought in eastern Australia since 1965."
The Australian leader then predicted the problems currently affecting the country's farming community should be expected in future.
"What we have to do is recognize we are the land of droughts and flooding rains. We know that," said Turnbull, before adding that the dry conditions appeared to be occurring on a more regular basis.
"That's part of the climate, it seems to be becoming more so and what we need is to ensure we provide every support to enable farmers to be resilient and respond to that climate." Drought in Australia is defined by the bureau as "rainfall over a three-month period being in the lowest decile of what has been recorded for that region."
Currently more than 99 percent of New South Wales is experiencing drought conditions, with parts of neighboring Queensland suffering up to seven years below-average rainfall. Parts of Victoria and South Australia are also managing extreme dry weather.
