Drought-proofing projects look set to be given $100 million per year from next July, under a government proposal which has now passed the Senate.
It hasn't rained in the tiny New South Wales town of Collie [COLL-eye] for three years.
Located one-hundred kilometres north-west of Dubbo, the small community's once green fields have faded to brown and deep cracks mark the dusty ground.
For grain farmer Andrew Freeth it’s been his harsh reality.
The 35-year-old has witnessed it all from flooding rains and now to devastating drought.
“Well we had gone from one extreme to the other; in 2016 we actually lost some crop from being too wet, we had a flood in June in 2016 and another one in September and really it's dried up since, 17,18, 19 have been well below or close to some of the driest years we've had, particularly form a winter perspective,” Mr Freeth said.
It comes as the Prime Minister Scott Morrison pledges support to struggling regions at the Bush Summit in Dubbo.
The government has announced a new House of Representative select committee to bring together stories from regional Australia with a view to boosting economic resilience.
Mr Morrison also promised to boost agriculture into a 100-billion dollar industry by 2030.
The government also challenged Labor to back its five billion dollar Future Drought Fund.
Labor agreed to the $5 billion Future Drought Fund, despite initially opposing it because it repurposed a dormant fund for road and rail.
The fund passed the Senate with a Centre Alliance amendment today (July 24), and will go back to the House of Representatives for final approval.
