Rotary rallies for drought-stricken south-west

ROTARY Clubs across Victoria’s south-west are uniting to raise funds for drought-affected communities, as limited water supplies and a lack of livestock feed threaten the future of farms across the region.

Individual clubs right across the district have pledged donations to the fundraiser – which has already reached 12 per cent of its $500,000 goal – and are now calling on the broader community to throw their support behind the initiative.

District governor Lesley Shedden said at a time of the year when we should be seeing paddocks filled with healthy, green crops, the land is instead dry and barren, as the state battles a historic drought.

She said the money raised through the appeal will be directed to the communities that need it most, with Rotary welcoming feedback from locals doing it tough on how those funds can be best deployed.

“We need information back from these communities about what they need. It may be cash, it may be drinking water, it might be water for stock, it might be feed for stock,” she said.

“I’m certainly not sitting here suggesting for a moment I know what’s needed – I just know how dry it is.

“We’re very focused and conscious of the need. It’s not just about the farmers, it’s the whole field.”

 

Unseasonably dry conditions have recently forced Apollo Bay to introduce water restrictions, while other communities are expected to follow, and recent rainfall, while welcome, will do little to address a deficit that has been building for the past 18 months.

Rotary member Phil Beasley, whose family owns farmland in the Colac area, said the current conditions meant many farmers had exhausted their existing food stocks, and were either going without themselves to afford the additional costs associated with importing the stock, or were facing the prospect of selling their animals.

“It’s not a light matter we’re talking about here,” he said, describing the situation as a “great leveller” that had left “no one person better off or worse off” than each other.

“It’s a long-term impact that might take them eight to 10 years to recover from.

“It’s the cumulative effect over this period: they’re employing people, so they’re still paying wages…and then it impacts the whole family.

“There’s an opportunity here to provide a tax-deductible donation, with the confidence that it’ll go directly to the communities involved, to needs identified by those local communities.”

To donate, head to bit.ly/3G28ggX or contact your local Rotary Club.