The end of the age of entitlement applies as much to the Nationals’ bush constituents as it does to business and city dwellers.
That said, drought assistance and natural disaster relief in general is a duty of government, like disability and unemployment support. Mr Abbott has foreshadowed income support, better access to loans and an emphasis on social support for farmers and rural communities. What he must avoid is a return to the mistakes of the past, fostered by Nationals pork-barrelling, that resulted in taxpayers drip-feeding farms that were unviable long term. In its report on government drought assistance in 2009, the Productivity Commission found that some farms had been on income support continuously since 2002. Even the generous exit packages offered under the Howard government did not entice some diehards to abandon unviable holdings.
