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Tuesday, 20 June 2006 The Ricegrowers Association of Australia (RGA) has welcomed the decision of the Australian Government to declare Exceptional Circumstances (EC) for the general irrigators in the NSW Murray Valley. “As the peak body representing ricegrowers in the Murray and Murrumbidgee Valleys, the RGA was actively involved in preparing this EC application with the support of the NSW Department of Primary Industries,” said RGA President, Laurie Arthur. “We are acutely aware of the hardship endured by individual irrigators as a result of the drought and worked hard to ensure this message was communicated to the Australian Government’s National Rural Advisory Council (NRAC) when we hosted their tour of the region on 27 March 2006, “Many of the rice growers who did not fit the criteria for the rice EC will be eligible to apply for the general irrigator EC,” said Mr Arthur “While irrigators have been eligible for income support through Centrelink since a prima facie case for EC was announced, this full EC declaration now means that eligible irrigators can apply for interest rate subsidies on new or existing loans to assist their farm business survive the drought. This includes irrigators who may have been rejected for Interim EC, Irrigators are urged to contact the following groups for further information and assistance: Southern Riverina Rural Advisory Service, Deniliquin – 03 5881 5766 CONTACT |
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