Australia Launches New Billion-Dollar Drought Package Amid Months-Long Crisis

Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison talks to the media at a press conference at Parliament House in Canberra, Australia on April 11, 2019. Tracey Nearmy/Getty Images

Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison has announced the details of a new drought stimulus package worth around one billion Australian dollars (US$690 million) centred on zero-interest loans for farmers and small businesses.

“This gives them massive breathing space,” he told reporters in Canberra on Thursday.