Croppers ineligible for Emergency Water Infrastructure Rebate

Scott McCalman is sinking thousands into drilling a new bore on his property, Kuranda, for household water but cannot apply for the state government's 25 per cent rebate because he has no livestock.

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Parkes MP Mark Coulton said the rebate was designed to "ensure the immediate welfare of livestock" and eligible primary producers could instead claim accelerated depreciation measures for new water infrastructure and consider the instant asset write-off for small businesses.

But Mr McCalman said access to water was a "basic human right" and essential in the worsening drought conditions.

"It is crucial croppers are included for eligibility for the capped water structure upgrade rebate," he said.

"It's really of critical importance that farm families that are running out of water ... are included.

"We've got to have water."

Mr McCalman said the Cox Creek floodplain and Mullaley had received half its usual rainfall last year, and bores were "failing all over the place from the drought".

"We've had neighbouring properties affected. It seems to be the soldier settlement bores, the original bores that went down," he said.

The farmer said his bore was probably established in the 1950s and "it's never given us any trouble" until Christmas. Since then, he has been carting 20,000 litres of water every few days from another block of land, and a driller has had four tries but "no luck" at finding a new spot for a bore.

The McCalmans have now had to put their hands back into their pockets for an electro-magnetic survey in the hope it will highlight a potential site.

Mr McCalman said accessing the rebate would enable farmers to invest in future drought measures.

"The money would be well spent because it would modify older existing bore infrastructure and hopefully drought-proof these families in future dry times," he said.

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