Rural Aid Reflects on a Year of Extremes

Rural Aid CEO John Warlters has reflected on a year marked by extremes for Australia's regional communities as joined FlowFM's Country Viewpoint host Jessica Dempster on the show for a final catch-up for 2025.

During that chat, Mr Warlters saw the cumulative impact of prolonged drought in southern Australia alongside record-breaking floods in Queensland and New South Wales take their toll on the members of affected communities,

“For many communities, this year was the tipping point after years of hardship,” he said.

Rural Aid delivered thousands of support services throughout the year, including water and fodder assistance, disaster recovery programs and more than 2,000 mental health counselling sessions for farmers and rural families. Mr Walters said while each program was important, restoring hope was the organisation’s greatest achievement.

“When help arrives, it sends a powerful message that people care,” he said.

He acknowledged the need to improve the speed at which assistance reaches communities during prolonged drought, noting that multi-year dry periods place immense financial and emotional strain on farming families.

“As a nation, we need to respond faster and more consistently,” Mr Walters said.

He added that throughout the year, farmers who received assistance from Rural Aid, repeatedly expressed gratitude for the support, reinforcing the importance of public generosity and awareness.

Mr Walters said agriculture’s contribution to Australia’s food security deserved greater recognition.

“If we value our food, we must value the people who produce it,” he said.

Looking ahead to 2026, Mr Warlters said Rural Aid plans to continue deploying volunteers to assist with on-farm recovery and community resilience projects, while hoping for more favourable seasonal conditions.

Mr Walters thanked farmers, volunteers, donors and rural communities for their resilience, describing them as the backbone of regional Australia.

"If I could throw my arms around them and give them a big hug to say thank you, I absolutely would," he said.

"So this is a virtual hug over the radio, and I really hope it finds its way to so many of those generous, generous Australians. Thank you for what you’ve done for us, so that we again could be the organisation that we are."