Lower Loddon Irrigation Recovery Package
Voluntary Buyback and Incentives
About the Lower Loddon Irrigators Recovery Package
A $21 million assistance package for flood affected irrigators was announced by Minister for Water Peter Walsh on 27 April 2011 to help the region recover and ensure it is in a stronger position to reduce the impacts of future flooding. There are three key components to the package.
- Voluntary land buyback and incentives - $12.3 million
This is an opportunity for farmers to consider changing their operation to something more tolerant to flooding or to sell their property and move to a less flood prone area.
- Facilitating irrigator recovery - $4.96 million
This program aims to facilitate flood recovery for all flood affected irrigators. It provides for individual support from Department of Primary Industries.
- Levees and groundwater bores - $3.5 million
This involves the strategic repair of levees and groundwater bores in the Lower Loddon area.
About the voluntary land buyback and incentives
Landholders in the Lower Loddon region are invited to explore their options which include:
- Compensation as a % of pre flood market value to restrict or change farming practices. The landholder stays but operates as a dryland property.
- The Rural Finance Corporation on behalf of the government offers to buy the property at pre flood market value for property. The landholder can relocate and the property is resold as a dryland grazing venture.
- Funds are provided for people to construct an appropriately designed levee to protect their house and maybe some out buildings such as sheds.
How long will the recovery package be available?
This flood recovery package will be available from 1 July 2011 and continue until June 2012.
Who is delivering this package?
The Minister for Water established the Lower Loddon Irrigators Recovery Taskforce to guide implementation of the package. The Taskforce is a joint local and state government group chaired by a representative from the Department of Primary Industries (DPI) and seeks community input from the Community Consultative Committee.
How much funding is available to each irrigator in the Lower Loddon?
There is no set amount of funding for each irrigator. Each farm is unique and if you are interested in participating, your property will independently assessed. In the case of high demand, it will be prioritised based on the flood risk.
Which are the areas of highest flood risk?
The Taskforce defined the high risk areas as the Benjeroop/Murrabit West, Benjeroop Forest and Loddon West/Fish point. These have been assessed based on a set of criteria including flood hazard, land use and threats to key infrastructure.
If I choose to participate, how will a valuation be undertaken on my land and agreed?
The Taskforce invites you to contact Rural Finance Corporation, who will be responsible for overseeing the buyback and landuse change incentive components of the package. Rural Finance will engage suitably qualified valuers selected from the Valuer General Victoria Panel of Valuers to determine market value. It will be based on the analysis of comparable property sales in the local area and on levels of value prior to the recent flood event. The valuation will take into consideration any additional improvements constructed or made to the land.
Financial offers will not be open to negotiation. Acceptance of the valuation figure by the landholder is entirely voluntary. We therefore don’t anticipate there will be a need for an appeals process.
If I choose to participate in the incentives option, what does this mean for my land?
The incentives option would require that you accept the establishment of a covenant which would change land use to farming systems that are more resilient to flood damage.
If I do not participate in the buyback/land use change, what kind of other flood protection works are being undertaken in my area to reduce my flood risk?
Breaches to the existing levee system will be repaired but it is expected in future events that the levee system may fail.
This taskforce will not be considering significant upgrades or the construction of new levees.
While levees can be designed to protect towns and houses it is difficult to envisage a levee system that could be designed to successfully protect farmland.
The Environment and Natural Resources Committee has launched an enquiry into matters relating to flood mitigation infrastructure. This will include identifying best practice and emerging technology for flood mitigation and monitoring infrastructure and the management of levees particularly the ownership and maintenance issues.
If I choose to relocate my business is there any assistance available?
The buyback and incentives options for landuse change will provide resources to enable landowners to relocate their business, and will link landholders to other programs which may also provide assistance, such as the NVIRP Connections Program and NCCMA program.
Grants of up to $2000 towards the cost of independent farm business management advice are also available from Department of Primary Industries.
What other assistance is available to irrigators?
This package comes on top of other flood recovery initiatives for irrigators in the Goulburn-Murray Irrigation District, which have been developed since the floods of January and February this year.
Assistance already available includes:
- $6 million for flood employment statewide ($2.5 million in the GMID) to address immediate and short term needs of landholders and create immediate cash flow.
- Up to $40 million from existing regional programs, such as the North Central CMA Programs or NVIRP Connections Program, to redevelop private properties that have been severely flood affected.
- Commonwealth Government Category D Arrangements. The Commonwealth Government had agreed to a cost-sharing arrangement for support under Category D of the Natural Disaster Relief and Recovery Arrangements (NDRRA). It involves a low-interest concessional loan and grant package of up to $650,000 over 10 years with a concessional interest rate of four per cent for the first five years, the first two years interest and repayment free, and up to $50,000 provided as a grant.
How do I find out more?
General information
- www.dpi.vic.gov.au
- DPI/DSE Customer Service Centre 136 183
Landholders in high flood risk areas (refer to map)
Contact Geoff Blyth, Rural Finance Corporation on Ph: 0354 482 600.
Landholders in other areas
Contact Department of Primary Industries Offices at Echuca on 5482 1922 or Kerang on 5452 1266.
Click the map to see a larger version
