Interview with Selina Green, ABC South Australian Country Hour

E&OE TRANSCRIPT
RADIO INTERVIEW
ABC SOUTH AUSTRALIAN COUNTRY HOUR
THURSDAY, 11 DECEMBER 2025

SUBJECTS: Support for farmers and producers through the Regional Investment Corporation

SELINA GREEN: Thousands of farmers have taken out Regional Investment Corporation, or RIC loans, to help them through tough times and many of them here in South Australia, and that's a number that's increased significantly in recent years because of the conditions and drought conditions we've been experiencing. The RIC provides low-interest loans to farm businesses to help them become more resilient and respond to drought. So, it is essential that the RIC is fit for purpose. An Independent Review of the RIC was completed well over a year and farming groups have been calling for the government to release its response to that and make improvements to the RIC. That day has finally come around a year and a half after the report and recommendations were handed to the Federal Government. The Federal Ag Minister, Julie Collins, is in South Australia today, where she's released the Government's response, and she joins me on the program now. Minister, thank you very much for your time.

MINISTER FOR AGRICULTURE, FISHERIES AND FORESTRY, JULIE COLLINS: Good afternoon Selina, and to your listeners.

GREEN: Well, firstly, why has this response taken so long? The Government's had the Review and the recommendation since the middle of 2024.

COLLINS: Obviously, we've had a federal election in the middle. We've also importantly had droughts in Victoria and in South Australia. We had a Drought Forum earlier this year in Gawler in South Australia, where we had everybody from around the country, including all the Agriculture Ministers, farmers and others, come and provide us feedback. We thought that it was important to incorporate that into the response. I'm pleased to say that the response is out today, where we have responded to the 32 recommendations, the six findings and whereby we're able to announce a number of things. First of all, there will be a new loan, which is a specific drought hardship loan that will be available to farmers to provide day-to-day costs. After a couple of years of drought, this will be much-needed support for those farmers, and that will be over five years and able to borrow up to $250,000. Importantly, there is a two-year repayment holiday for those farmers in recognition that they have had continuous years of drought. That will be a new loan product, and we expect that loan product to be up and running in the first half of next year. There'll also be another new loan product that was announced by the Prime Minister around the Algal bloom and the marine heat wave, and that will also be available next year. That will be a similar type of product in terms of up to $250,000, and it will be available to wild catch fishers as well as to marine farmers, and aquaculture as well. And obviously, this is in response to what we have seen in terms of the Algal bloom. The other thing that's really important that I'm pleased to be able to say to your listeners today is that we have taken a decision to continue the freezing of the concessional rate of the loan. The 5.18 per cent for a further six months from February, which is really important to farmers to be able to provide that certainty. And if you think just a few months ago we were in a position where the Regional Investment Corporation, known as the RIC, was going to end its ability to make new loans from 30 June next year. We've announced that additional billion dollars to go into the Regional Investment Corporation so that it will be able to issue new loans from 1 July. And we're talking about these two new loans in the first half of next year to become available to help people that need it. In terms of our response to those recommendations, we've either agreed or noted all of those recommendations. We're not disagreeing outright with any of them at this point in time. We're just allowing ourselves a bit more room on a couple of them in terms of being able to adapt in the future to what we might need to do with a Regional Investment Corporation going forward. But this provides great confidence to farmers, and it shows that our government is listening and acting when it comes to the feedback the farmers are providing us with.

GREEN: If we talk about, firstly, those drought hardship loans, that is a new loan product. So, that sounds more like more of an emergency or short-term, you know, someone finding themselves in trouble and needing one of these loans? Is this intended to replace your situations where droughts occur, and governments come in and make grant announcements or emergency payments to farmers?

COLLINS: Absolutely not. Under the National Drought Agreement, those types of grant payments are still the purview of state governments. And obviously, we have seen state governments both in South Australia and Victoria and in New South Wales actually provide those types of grants and immediate support for farmers impacted by drought. This is about providing an additional resource and responding to the feedback that we received at the Drought Forum and in relation to the RIC Review that was done by Dr. Wendy Craik.

GREEN: As you mentioned before, the freezing of that rate at 5.18 per cent. I know one of the most consistent things we've been hearing from farmers is that they want those interest rates reduced to a truly concessional level. I mean, is there any intention to take action to lower the current rate of 5.18? Some would argue that that isn't truly concessional when you compare it against a commercial lender.

COLLINS: Well, it is concessional in terms of commercial lenders when you're talking about business loans. And it would be an average approximate of two per cent lower than what people would be able to get. But we inherited, of course, the way that the interest rate is calculated for the Regional Investment Corporation. What we'll do is, and what I'm sort of saying about the recommendations, is give ourselves a bit more time to have a look at that. And in the meantime, obviously, we're freezing that to be reassessed.

GREEN: I've got Julie Collins, the Federal Ag Minister, joining us on the Country Hour today. The Government has today handed down its response to the Review into the RIC, the Regional Investment Corporation. Talking about the certainty of the RIC going forward. Is there a guaranteed certainty of the RIC beyond June 30 next year? Is its lending capacity guaranteed?

COLLINS: Absolutely, and obviously we've put in another billion dollars in terms of the availability of the RIC to issue those loans. And these loans will be in addition to the existing suite of loans that the Regional Investment Corporation has. So, those loans will be able to continue from 1 July, absolutely. And what this does is provide certainty for farmers and producers that those loans will be there on an ongoing basis from 1 July, so that funding is available from that additional billion dollars. And of course, all of the loans are demand-driven. So, we expect that the funding that we're providing will be significant and substantial.

GREEN: What about expediating the process? Is there a target for how soon these RIC loan applications should be processed and approved?

COLLINS: That was obviously one of the things that was raised in the RIC review by Dr. Craik, the terms and the time that it took to process loans, particularly as sometimes some of the new products that were added actually increased demand significantly and the Regional Investment Corporation was unable to process them in an appropriate time. That is why we've done this new particular product this way, to ensure that support gets to people as quickly as it can when they really need it, rather than a more general loan or position that would just increase demand substantially. That money wouldn't get to the people that need it faster, so that's why we've done that. And certainly, the Regional Investment Corporation has done substantial work to improve its approval and processing time substantially.

GREEN: So, are you confident going forward that the RIC is fit-for-purpose for what farmers need out of it?

COLLINS: Well, obviously, we're always in a position where we will look at the Regional Investment Corporation, but we think that this is substantial in terms of these two products that we're adding. We have, of course, announced that we'll also add another product, a third product, in the second half of next year, after we've focused on getting these ones out the door. And that will be in terms of climate adaption. So, on farm infrastructure to allow farmers to do more climate adaption on their farm as climate is changing. We want to make sure that farmers have the ability to do that. So, there'll be three new products by the end of next year. I'd also say, importantly, Selina, that the Regional Investment Corporation, if farmers are interested in the two new products today, you can go on and register your interest so you can get the regular updates on the details of when those loans will be available. We've got a bit of technical work to do and a bit of regulation to make sure that these loans can be available in the first half of next year. So, that will keep people up to date.

GREEN: Three new products. You're broadening the scope of what farmers and fishers can apply for and utilise this for. I know that, as you mentioned, there was an extra billion dollars of funding that went into the RIC. Is there enough in the kitty if you are going to, you know, make these major expansions to what the RIC does and can be utilised for?

COLLINS: As I said, Selina, it is a substantial injection, and we do think that it will be sufficient in terms of the funds available. These are demand-driven products, and we expect that the funding will be sufficient for the demand that will be there.

GREEN: Minister, we appreciate you making time for the Country Hour today. Thanks so much for joining us.

COLLINS: No, I really appreciate it. And I would also say, obviously, that support in terms of the Algal bloom is in addition to the joint funding that we have with the South Australian state government and the grants that were available in the initial phase of that Algal bloom. Around $20 million in grants were made available to fishers and to aquaculture providers here in South Australia.

GREEN: That is the Federal Agriculture Minister Julie Collins speaking to me there in South Australia today to hand down the Government's response to the Review into the RIC, the Regional Investment Corporation. That review was conducted some time ago. The Government's had that final report and recommendations for a good year and a half, but that Review being handed down today. And as you heard, the Minister announcing there some new loan products and some tweaks to the RIC as a result.

ENDS