At last weekend's Gympie Muster music festival in Queensland, Mr Kernaghan used his position as Australian of the Year to highlight the ongoing plight of farmers still struggling drought, arguing the level of assistance farmers were receiving was "pitiful" and the Government had been rebranding drought as climate change.

Mr Kernaghan said sternly that farmers needed to be recognised as working families too.

"Our PM said that he was going to support working families," Mr Kernaghan said.

"Well, some of the hardest working families that I know are farming families.

"And the level of assistance they get is pitiful…I just don't think they are being valued and I will just be straight up with you - they are being abandoned."

Following questioning in parliament by Queensland Member for Maranoa Bruce Scott this week, Mr Rudd rejected Mr Kernaghan's claims, insisting the Government saw Australian farmers as "the best and most effective farmers in the world".

"When it comes to standing up for their interests and their rights, including making the economic policy settings of Australia more conducive to interest rates heading down than going up, we will stand up for the farmers of Australia any day," Mr Rudd said.

Minister for Agriculture, Tony Burke, added that Mr Kernaghan only recently had commended the Federal Government for reviewing drought assistance.

Mr Scott had asked Mr Rudd if he agreed with Lee Kernaghan’s claim the Government was abandoning the bush, at a time when fertiliser prices were going through the roof and drought was continuing to wreak havoc across Australia.

Mr Scott said the Prime Minister deliberately ignored the claim he is abandoning Australia’s farmers by instead accusing the Coalition Government over failing to keep down fertiliser prices.

"Mr Rudd claims, most likely for dramatic emphasis, that the problem is the cost of fertiliser has been around for 'a long, long, long time'," Mr Scott said.

"I’m not sure what Mr Rudd considers a ‘long, long, long time’, but the price of fertiliser has doubled only within the last 18 months or so," Mr Scott said.

Mr Rudd told the parliament fertiliser prices "have gone through the roof" and was "a huge impost in terms of your ability to earn a quid out of the family farm".

"There is a committee involving Senator Heffernan and others who are looking at this matter and they will be very mindful of recommendations which come forward in terms of future action," Mr Rudd said.