Social Assessment

The Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry, the Hon. Tony Burke MP, appointed an Expert Panel to examine the social impacts of drought on farm families and rural communities as part of its national review of drought policy. The seven-member panel, chaired by Mr Peter Kenny, completed its assessment in September 2008.

Final Report

The Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry, Tony Burke, has released the Expert Social Panel’s report on its assessment of the social impacts of drought on farm families and rural communities.

•  It’s About People: Changing Perspectives on Dryness, A Report to Government by an Expert Social Panel – September 2008

Issues Paper

The Social Panel acknowledged that farmers face difficulties in leaving their farms to travel to meetings. Because of this, the Panel released an Issues Paper so that people unable to attend one of its forums could make a written submission. The deadline for making written submissions was Friday 8 August 2008. The panel received over 230 written submissions. The issues paper and copies of the submissions received by the panel are available on this website.

• Assessment of the social impacts of drought and related government and non-government social support services – June 2008
  
  
• Public submissions 

Public consultation forums

The Expert Social Panel’s public consultation process is now complete. Public consultation forums were held across Australia from mid-July until the end of August 2008.

• Itinerary: Social expert panel’s public consultation forums – updated 8 August 2008

Media releases

Media releases issued by the Expert Social Panel assessing the social impacts of drought:

• Itinerary released for expert social panel’s public forums – 4 July 2008
• Call for submissions to the expert social panel’s assessment  – 26 June 2008
  

Further information

For further information on the social assessment, please refer to the terms of reference.