Portfolio — 15 May 2026

Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry Julie Collins used 15 May to push two distinct but connected portfolio priorities: long-term drought resilience and managed transition away from live sheep exports by sea. On drought, Collins announced a $4.4 million investment through the Future Drought Fund for Tasmania's Regional Drought Resilience Planning Phase 2, which extends to 2029 [TA-260515-agricu-08a21ac6472d].

The announcement builds on an earlier $2.9 million federal contribution to the same program, suggesting a sustained, staged commitment to Tasmanian climate adaptation rather than a one-off grant. Collins framed the funding in explicitly collaborative terms, stating: "The Albanese Labor Government is committed to working collaboratively with Tasmania to ensure communities can prepare for and respond to changing drought and climate conditions" [TA-260515-agricu-08a21ac6472d].

The language signals the government is positioning climate-adaptive agriculture as a shared federal-state project, with community-led planning at its centre.

The second tranche of activity was concentrated on the live sheep export transition. Collins opened Round 2 of both the Livestock Transport Industry Transition Program — offering grants of up to $40,000 (GST-exclusive) to transport operators, with $1.5 million available across both rounds — and the Farm Business Transition Program, offering grants of up to $75,000 (GST-exclusive) to sheep producers as part of a $30 million package [TA-260515-agricu-494b43fb77b0].

The simultaneous opening of both Round 2 programs on the same day indicates the government is moving the transition package into its next operational phase in a coordinated way, covering both the production and logistics sides of the affected supply chain. The $30 million package underpinning the farm business grants represents the government's primary financial vehicle for managing the political and economic consequences of the live sheep export phase-out, a policy that has drawn sustained attention from pastoral and regional stakeholders.