Shooters Fishers and Farmers Orange MP Phil Donato has revealed a cap for heavy vehicles in primary production that was introduced in 1998 was not applied by Roads and Maritime Services, costing those registering an extra $30 million.
According to secret internal Government documents tabled in Parliament on Thursday by Shooters Fishers and Farmers Party Member for Orange Philip Donato, the New South Wales Government has ripped-off farmers by over $30 million for 20 years.
A cap for heavy vehicles in primary production that was introduced in 1998 was not applied by Roads and Maritime Services (RMS) and instead the Government has over-charged them without the legislative authority.
“Roads Minister Melinda Pavey should be ashamed of herself,” Mr Donato said.
“Farmers struggling with the drought need all the help they can get. They don’t deserve to be ripped off by the Government for two decades.
“When farmers are struggling to put food on their table and feed their starving stock as a result of this drought, the last thing they need is another kick in the guts by a heartless Government that falsely claims to be helping them.
“The National Party claim to represent farmers, yet they’ve been knowingly ripping-off farmers by an average of $730 for every heavy vehicle they own. This is on top of another scheme from the late 1990s that already provided an average saving of $1,282 per vehicle.
“Minister Pavey’s own documents show that she hasn’t fixed the problem, despite knowing about the error in February this year and having a solution ready from the Parliamentary Counsel. She sat on this and didn’t tell anybody about it for six months until I revealed these documents in Parliament.
These documents also highlight concern about people claiming over $30 million in back payments owed to them, and a further $1 million to administer the refunds.
“If the National Party Roads Minister keeps avoiding this issue, their own figures show that it will cost farmers a further $12.5 million per year, and increase annually by 12.5 per cent.
“95 per cent of people affected by this discrepancy live in rural areas, according to the Government’s own documents. They’ve known about this injustice all year and that on top of the drought farmers have been wrongly slugged millions of dollars.”
Mr Donato called on all farmers to demand a refund now.
“I encourage all affected farmers to contact their local Roads and Maritime Services office to inquire about getting their refund.
“When there’s a budget surplus of over $3 billion, farmers don’t deserve more delays. The Nationals already delayed offering drought relief – they can’t delay this repayment as well.”
Mr Donato directly asked Roads Minister Melinda Pavey about this matter in Question Time on Thursday, but she dodged the question in her answer.
