ARMIDALE received the brunt of the region’s rain over the weekend, with up to 40 millimetres recorded since Thursday afternoon.
The downpours were enough to put a few smiles on faces, although most farmers have said five times as much was needed to make a difference.
Wollomombi was the biggest benefactor, with 49mm recorded at the general store, while 41mm fell at the Armidale Airport and 37mm fell in the Armidale township.
Further north, just 6mm was recorded at Glen Innes, while Inverell fared only slightly better with 7mm.
The rain in north-west NSW put a dampener on Prime Minister Tony Abbott’s drought tour with Member for New England Barnaby Joyce.
Mr Abbott and Mr Joyce toured parts of NSW and Queensland on Sunday, giving farmers the chance to talk directly to them about the drought and how it was affecting rural communities.
But part of the tour was cancelled because of rain – with heavy falls in Bourke, and some rain and strong winds in Longreach.
Mr Abbott arrived in the north-west NSW town of Bourke to hear about the impacts of the drought, but almost immediately rain set in.
The Prime Minister told locals he did not want regional Australia to become a “museum piece”.
“I’m very conscious of the fact that this has been quite a serious drought and it has been going now for the best part of two years,” he said.
“What we can’t do is prop-up failing businesses, but what we can do is try to ensure that good businesses that are hit by natural disaster get the sort of support that they need.”
