Time for SA to match the east: A case for a rural finance and resilience agency
[As published in the Stock Journal]
Such is the scale and footprint of the livestock industry that this year we’ve been advocating for members affected by both climatic extremes – crippling, lowest rainfall on record drought across the south and historic flooding in the north-east, where Cooper Creek exceeded its 1974 record.
These pressures are only becoming more frequent and complex. Climate volatility is intensifying, and global markets are increasingly unstable. In 2020, China abruptly banned beef imports from key Australian processors, cutting off our most lucrative market at that time which was valued at about $3 billion. Earlier this year, Donald Trump announced sweeping tariffs on global exports. These shocks left producers and our supply chains with no time to adapt.
This is the new normal, a future defined by volatility. South Australia’s livestock producers need support systems that are proactive and strategic, and less reactive and bureaucratic. As such, SA’s agricultural industries and regions would benefit from the establishment of a dedicated rural finance and resilience agency to help navigate these pressures.
Other states have already shown what’s possible. Queensland’s QRIDA and NSW’s RAA deliver concessional loans, disaster recovery grants, and co-investment programs designed specifically for agriculture. Crucially, they are permanent, statutory agencies that coordinate across departments, fast-track delivery, and build trust with both producers and partners.
Here in SA, while the government has rolled out various drought measures, some have taken too long to activate, and others too long to assess. This is not a criticism of intent, but a reflection of the limits of current structures and resourcing. Support must be ready to go. Pre-designed, appropriately governed, and rapidly deployed. The next drought or flood won’t wait for interdepartmental coordination.
South Australia has had rural assistance mechanisms in the past, but they've been fragmented across departments with no enduring mandate or dedicated delivery capacity.
A statutory agency could deliver assistance aligned to each phase of the drought cycle. Resilience investment before drought hits, rapid emergency aid during crisis, and targeted support to rebuild afterward. It would have the ability to create niche product offerings as well as administering more established programs such as no- and low-interest loans, freight support and restocking assistance, and grants to upgrade water infrastructure or diversify income streams.
This is not about creating more red tape. It's about creating a trusted, efficient system that delivers what producers need, when they need it, while improving accountability and ideally attracting greater national co-investment.
Over the past 30 years, QRIDA has shown that a well-governed agency can deliver billions in assistance and drive real outcomes. We don’t need to replicate it exactly, but we do need to commit to building something fit-for-purpose for South Australia.
We can’t control the climate or geopolitics, but we can control how we prepare for and respond to them. Establishing a rural finance and resilience agency is not about creating bureaucracy for its own sake. It is a smart, structural step toward securing the future of SA’s livestock and other agricultural industries.
By Travis Tobin