At the National Drought Summit in Canberra the Prime Minister announced a Future Drought Fund that will grow to $5 billion over a decade and will generate $100m a year for infrastructure projects and resilience initiatives to help farmers and communities deal with drought.
Landcare was represented at the Summit by Sandy McKenzie, a former Member of Parliament and member of the Victorian Landcare community.
Sandy sat next to the National Drought Coordinator, Major General Stephen Day, and had the opportunity to address the Summit about the importance of Landcare, highlighting the volunteer contribution and the central role played by women in Landcare.
As the dust settles on this important event it will be critical for decision makers to hear from on ground Landcarers about how best to prioritise and leverage investment to achieve the best results for farmers, communities and the natural resources that sustain them.
Further information on the Summit including who attended, principles adopted by the Summit and a transcript of the PM’s press conference are below.
Prime Minister announces Future Drought Fund that will grow to $5b over a decade
http://theconversation.com/government-to-set-up-new-multi-billion-future-drought-fund-105688
Principles adopted by the Summit.
https://www.pmc.gov.au/news-centre/domestic-policy/national-drought-summit-statement
Transcript of PM’s press conference
https://www.pm.gov.au/media/drought-summit-press-conference
Presentations from the Summit.
https://www.pmc.gov.au/news-centre/domestic-policy/national-drought-summit-presentations-available
Attendees at the Summit
https://www.pmc.gov.au/news-centre/domestic-policy/national-drought-summit-26-october-2018-attendees
