Drought support needed for Mansfield

Published on 27 May 2025

The Victorian Government has announced funding support for those affected by drought, including that it will not pass on the new ESVF tax to those who receive the funding.

Mayor Cr Steve Rabie said Mansfield had been left out to dry in the announcement of drought funding.

“Last week, I wrote on behalf of the Mansfield Shire community to the Minister for Agriculture, Ros Spence, to express our disappointment in being excluded from the drought package.

“While we acknowledge and welcome the Government’s investment of $29.4 million in support for farmers and rural communities across Victoria, the exclusion of Mansfield Shire comes at a time when many of our farmers are facing extremely difficult seasonal conditions. I can’t walk down the street without hearing the financial and economic toll the severe drought conditions are taking on the community. Dams and other on-farm water storage has all but dried up. There is a lack of feed and hay. Every community member is praying for rain and every community member is feeling the impact of the hardship caused by the drought conditions.

“We have reached out to Goulburn Valley Water to ask about the situation. As the lake draws down, what are the next steps for our community as we run out of water?

“The toll on our community is evident, so we are grateful that the funding does include some mental health support. In addition, there are opportunities for planning for drought and how to plan for a worsening of the situation.

“Farmers can now access one-on-one technical support to go through feed and water budgets, which was part of the announcement in the drought funding.

“There is, unfortunately, no funding for infrastructure or feed. This comes with being officially declared in drought, which is what we are asking of the state government,” said Cr Rabie.

“We continue to hear from our community that we need real support through these dry times.

“We listen and we act. We’re writing to ministers, we’re communicating with GV water and considering all our options for how we can secure the best outcomes for our community,” said Cr Rabie.

If you are doing it tough, contact Council to ask about how to access counselling services.