VICTORIAN farmers would continue to benefit from a federal government scheme that allows small business owners to instantly write off assets worth up to $20,000.
The Victorian Farmers Federation (VFF) praised Treasurer Scott Morrison for extending the initiative, which was due to expire at the end of June, for another year.
“The Government’s accelerated depreciation scheme is helping to secure the future of agriculture because when farmers invest in upgrading their businesses, entire communities benefit,” VFF president David Jochinke said.
“We’ve been given one more year of the scheme, but what we really need is for it to be extended in perpetuity to ensure real benefits for rural businesses.”
Mr Jochinke said it was great to see the federal government pumping funding into infrastructure, but called on the State government to ensure rural Victoria wasn’t forgotten.
“Victoria has a long list of rural infrastructure projects which will improve our State’s agricultural opportunities and if there’s half a billion dollars sitting there looking for projects, the State government would do well to put more money into water and road initiatives,” he said.
But funding for rural telecommunications was conspicuously absent in the Budget, with the Mobile Black Spot Program failing to get a top-up.
