Prime Minister Scott Morrison nominated drought assistance as a top priority along with national security and economic growth when he was chosen by lawmakers in his conservative Liberal Party on Friday to replace his predecessor Malcolm Turnbull.
Turnbull became the fourth prime minister to be dumped by his or her own party since 2010 in response to poor opinion polling.
Morrison flew to rural western Queensland state, where crops are failing and ranchers are struggling to feed sheep and cattle after six years of drought.
He has yet to announce any new initiatives to help farmers.
Morrison is working to heal a bitter rift between conservative and moderate lawmakers in his conservative government to present a united front to voters at elections due by May.
The hard-right lawmaker who led the charge against Turnbull but lost the leadership ballot to Morrison was sworn in as home affairs minister Monday.
Tony Abbott, a key Dutton ally who was prime minister before Turnbull replaced him in a similar Liberal Party revolt in 2015, declared on Monday that the government would not turn against Morrison.
“The era of the political assassin is over and thank God for that,” Abbott told Sydney Radio 2GB.
Morrison welcomed Abbott’s comments.
“It’s been a pretty tumultuous time and I think Australians would welcome the fact that that that period of time is over and it should be over,” Morrison told reporters in the town of Quilpie.

Standing in front of the microphone in the searing bare heat outside the Tully family’s house paddock, the Prime Minister holds up a message of hope.
The questions soon round on that of climate change.
He also points the family’s own records which he believes show this drought is not unusual.
"We’ve got 100 years of (rainfall) records," Mr Tully says.
The Prime Minister echoed that position.
"If people want to have a debate about that, fine.
"Now the challenge is: do you keep them in boarding school, or are they not educated?"
"But you’re still going to educate those kids.
In the town of Quilpie there is a noticeable decrease in the sound of children laughing and playing.
"We’ve had families move away because they can’t afford boarding school," Mrs Hall said.

Today, climate change has ushered in a new era of drought – and this time there’s no end in sight.
If Joseph were alive today, he might very well pick up the phone and call Israeli startup PlantArcBio.
This time, it’s based on science, not dreams.
PlantArcBio’s big idea is that at least some of the genes found there can help other plants survive in low-water conditions.
But using computers to match gene to plant is expensive and time consuming, Shalitin tells ISRAEL21c.
Instead of relying on simulations, PlantArcBio collects actual soil and water samples from the Dead Sea area.
“We don’t have to know in advance what genes we have inside the sample,” Shalitin explains.
“The plants with the best genes showed an improvement of 10 to 15 percent” in dealing with drought conditions, Shalitin explains.
Soybeans are particularly important for PlantArcBio – and for the planet.
Needle in a haystack PlantArcBio, which was founded in 2014, has so far identified about 100 genes (out of a million tested) that help plants become more drought tolerant.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison nominated drought assistance as a top priority along with national security and economic growth when he was chosen by lawmakers in his conservative Liberal Party on Friday to replace his predecessor Malcolm Turnbull.
Turnbull became the fourth prime minister to be dumped by his or her own party since 2010 in response to poor opinion polling.
Morrison flew to rural western Queensland state, where crops are failing and ranchers are struggling to feed sheep and cattle after six years of drought.
He has yet to announce any new initiatives to help farmers.
Morrison is working to heal a bitter rift between conservative and moderate lawmakers in his conservative government to present a united front to voters at elections due by May.
The hard-right lawmaker who led the charge against Turnbull but lost the leadership ballot to Morrison was sworn in as home affairs minister Monday.
Tony Abbott, a key Dutton ally who was prime minister before Turnbull replaced him in a similar Liberal Party revolt in 2015, declared on Monday that the government would not turn against Morrison.
"The era of the political assassin is over and thank God for that,” Abbott told Sydney Radio 2GB.
Morrison welcomed Abbott’s comments.
"It’s been a pretty tumultuous time and I think Australians would welcome the fact that that that period of time is over and it should be over,” Morrison told reporters in the town of Quilpie.

Scott Morrison won’t say if human-induced climate change is associated with the drought in Queensland and NSW because it doesn’t help solve practical problems.
The new prime minister visited a drought-stricken Quilpie farm in rural Queensland in his first visit in the job, but refused to say if he thought climate change was affecting the drought.
"It’s not a debate I’ve participated a lot in in the past, because I’m practically interested in the policies that will address what is going on here right and now.
"I’m interested in getting people’s electricity prices down and I’m not terribly interested in engaging in those sorts of debates at this point."
Mr Morrison said his passion for dealing with the drought came from a conversation with Nationals leader Michael McCormack in cabinet.
"Michael was really pushing that this really had to be put on our agenda and what our response was," he said.
"That had a big impact on me, Michael, and, as you know, we went through a whole range of packages that went through the budget."
"It goes on as long as the drought goes on.
"The appointment of climate change denier Barnaby Joyce as his drought envoy is a joke and a slap in the face for all in the sector who want meaningful drought policy reform," Mr Fitzgibbon said.
But Mr Morrison said the role made good use of the former deputy prime minister’s skills.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison nominated drought assistance as a top priority along with national security and economic growth when he was chosen by lawmakers in his conservative Liberal Party on Friday to replace his predecessor Malcolm Turnbull.
Turnbull became the fourth prime minister to be dumped by his or her own party since 2010 in response to poor opinion polling.
Morrison flew to rural western Queensland state, where crops are failing and ranchers are struggling to feed sheep and cattle after six years of drought.
He has yet to announce any new initiatives to help farmers.
Morrison is working to heal a bitter rift between conservative and moderate lawmakers in his conservative government to present a united front to voters at elections due by May.
The hard-right lawmaker who led the charge against Turnbull but lost the leadership ballot to Morrison was sworn in as home affairs minister Monday.
Tony Abbott, a key Dutton ally who was prime minister before Turnbull replaced him in a similar Liberal Party revolt in 2015, declared on Monday that the government would not turn against Morrison.
"The era of the political assassin is over and thank God for that," Abbott told Sydney Radio 2GB.
Morrison welcomed Abbott’s comments.
"It’s been a pretty tumultuous time and I think Australians would welcome the fact that that that period of time is over and it should be over," Morrison told reporters in the town of Quilpie.

COPENHAGEN (Reuters) – Losses for already hard-pressed Danish farmers are likely to be bigger than previously expected, an industry lobby group said on Wednesday, warning this could trigger more bankruptcies.
FILE PHOTO: A farmer watches as grain is harvested in Hurup, Jutland in this August 16, 2011 photo.
REUTERS/Henning Bagger/Scanpix/File Photo Denmark, like many other countries in Europe, has been hit by one of the hottest summers on record, which has damaged crops and hit farmers’ income.
The drought, combined with low pork prices, is expected to trigger losses in the Danish agricultural sector not seen since the 2008 financial crisis.
The losses could reach almost 8 billion Danish crowns ($1.23 billion) this year, according to research institute SEGES, part of the Danish Agriculture & Food Council lobby group.
On its own, the impact of the drought is seen at around 6 billion crowns, it added.
“There is no doubt the drought has impacted so many farmers, that there will be more bankruptcies,” SEGES economist Klaus Kaiser told Reuters, declining to give an estimate.
Denmark’s harvest of wheat, barley and rye could fall by about 40 percent from previous years, the lobby group has previously forecast.
To view a map on European drought, click tmsnrt.rs/2M4kIvA The industry had already been struggling with a Russian ban on food imports introduced in 2014.
Twenty Danish agricultural businesses declared bankruptcy in June, more than twice the number in the same period last year.

An extended drought would have a "significant" effect on the economy and food prices, says Reserve Bank Governor Philip Lowe.
Farmers are battling drought with the worst effects in NSW, southern Queensland and northern Victoria.
A new report by Commonwealth Bank has put the potential cost at $12 billion and warned of food price hikes.
Asked about the outlook, Dr Lowe said: "It depends very much on the scenario you paint for rainfall."
He said in 2002/03 farm output fell around 25 per cent knocking a full percentage point off Australia’s growth and leading to many rural workers losing their jobs.
As well, food prices rose by 4.5 per cent, because slaughter rates increase as droughts bite.
"The current drought is not as serious as that one and we all certainly hope it won’t be," Dr Lowe said.
In the short term, rural exports could rise as meat production increases, but at risk is an agricultural sector which accounts for up to 15 per cent of total exports.
Chief economist Michael Blythe said while drought may "take the edge" off total growth, the Australian economy was still likely to show a good result overall.
Australian Associated Press

Rain relief for the west this week but south and east still up to 80pc below normal levels Drought conditions could return to Ireland over the next two months, climate experts have warned.
"Seasonal forecasts for the coming two months show a real possibility of the meteorological set-up that led to the current drought returning and persisting," stated Professor Peter Thorne, Dr Simon Noone and Dr Conor Murphy of Maynooth University’s Irish Climate Analysis and Research Unit (Icarus) last week.
"That doesn’t mean such an outcome is certain, but if I was making decisions on critical infrastructure or how to manage the land I would be making them in this context right now for sure," Dr Thorne told the Farming Independent.
"Fields are, at least for now, green which may give a false impression of a return to ‘normal’.
However, rivers remain very low and this impacts the issue of supply for all users, be they public, services, industry or agriculture," he explained.
"We need to ensure resilience moving forward in water supply and water management, including future-proofing against possible climate change impacts on rainfall and temperatures.
In the short-term we must grapple with the immediate challenge of the current drought."
Soil moisture deficits remain high over east Munster and parts of Leinster, with growth continuing to be restricted, but elsewhere soil moisture deficits have reduced due to recent rainfall.
Rainfall totals in recent weeks have been well below normal, with the east and south receiving less than 20pc of normal, but the north and western coastal counties at around 30-50pc of normal.
However, overall totals are likely to be below normal in the east and south, with parts of the west and northwest close to or slightly above normal.

“We’re just not producing the forages,” said Clint Perkins, Smith County Agriculture Agent.
“Some of them are having to supplement their cows right now.
So that’s digging into their back pocket and into the bottom line.” Perkins said the effects of the drought started long before the heat of the summer.
“We did not have the subsoil moisture from the winter and early spring rains to kick start out first cutting of hay," said Perkins.
A growing number of ranchers and farmers are now being forced to trim their livestock or even sell them.
Tyler rancher Scott Herod is just one of the many Texas ranchers feeling the effects of the bone-dry conditions.
“We had substantial rainfall.
But this year we’re obviously experiencing a drought.” Herod said he’s not feeling the worst of the effects because of his rotational pasture management techniques.
His ranch only grazes one cow per 4-5 acres.
This allows them to better withstand the drought.