The drought rolled in to Canberra this week.
Not that a dust cloud settled over Parliament House and hazily drifted under the door of the PM's office.
But it was foremost in the minds of many government MPs meeting for the first time this year.
Many of them are angry, but for different reasons.
Some Liberals are unhappy that Barnaby Joyce, the Nationals deputy leader and Agriculture Minister, publicly floated the idea of spending billions on drought assistance.
They complained it showed the same lack of internal discipline that plagued the Rudd and Gillard governments and unfairly raised public expectations.
Nationals are concerned Treasurer Joe Hockey's declaration of the end of the "age of entitlement" - exemplified by the government stance on SPC Ardmona and car makers - could extend to struggling farmers.
They worry the significance of the rural sector will be underestimated by penny-pinchers seeking to balance the budget and pay off debt.
But Prime Minister Tony Abbott, who plans to visit drought-hit areas of Queensland and NSW this weekend, reassured his colleagues that providing money to farmers is different to propping up manufacturers.
He sympathises with the argument that drought is a natural disaster and government relief is not industry assistance.
The joint coalition party room debate highlighted some of the political difficulties the Abbott government faces heading into 2014, which for parts of Queensland and western NSW marks more than two years in drought.
Farmers say the government needs to look not only at drought assistance measures, but also how to turbo-charge rural industry to create jobs beyond the mining boom and the end of car manufacturing.
Labor began work on this long-term planning in May 2013, four months before the election, sealing an interim deal with the states on new drought arrangements and releasing a national food plan.
The drought arrangements included household assistance, concessional loans and business training - all of which are expected to continue in some form under the coalition government.
The national food plan covered a broad range of support including promotion of Australian brands, export market advice and research for business, and cutting the red tape from paddock-to-plate.
Joyce followed this up after the election with a white paper on Australia's agriculture sector.
The new minister said it was about generating jobs, improving farm gate returns, food security and increasing agriculture's contribution to Australia's wider economic growth.
Australia was in the right place at the right time with the right products to sell, especially as the Asian middle class grows and demands more and better quality food.
What was needed though was some strategic direction and government leadership, Joyce argued.
Part of the white paper review also focuses on drought, but some interim measures are expected before July.
The National Farmers Federation says while long-term solutions are needed, there is an immediate need for targeted and easily accessible help to ease the pressure on farm families, their businesses and rural communities.
It lists household income support, wage assistance, low-interest loans, water infrastructure grants, farm management deposits and better access to social services as of immediate priority.
But president Brent Finlay insists he is not talking about handouts.
"We're talking about short-term assistance in times of extreme hardship, to viable farmers, to help them through these tough times."
Abbott says whatever the government does will be fair, but fiscally responsible - a position that will require both a hard head and a degree of empathy for rural areas.
Labor's agriculture spokesman, former minister Joel Fitzgibbon, supports the bringing forward of assistance but he fears the federal-state co-operation which was well under way before the 2013 election may have stalled.
The resurrected drought plan must include lower interest rates, further talks with the states and a long-term natural disaster plan which springs into effect whenever there is severe drought, he says.
Finlay, who will accompany the prime minister on the drought tour this weekend, believes the future of agriculture should be beyond partisan politics.
"It's not just about farmers - this is about whole communities."
