Disaster-hit farmers will be able to get free financial counselling, as Prime Minister Anthony Albanese warns of more extreme weather events.

The federal government will commit an extra $2 million to the Rural Financial Counselling Service to allow it to hire more staff and deliver increased support to farmers on the ground.

While some in south-eastern Australia are battling historic droughts, those in NSW have faced “one-in-500 year” floods, putting significant strain on farmers across the country.

Albanese acknowledged they were “doing it tough”.

“People put their heart and soul into their farms,” he said near Wasleys, north of Adelaide, on Monday.

“Australia has always had droughts, we’ve always had flooding rains, and that has occurred throughout our history on this great continent that we’re privileged to live on. But the truth is that there are more extreme weather events and they’re more intense.

“We need to adjust to that.”

With Albanese on Monday, South Australian Premier Peter Malinauskas said parts of the state were enduring record dry conditions.

“The irony isn’t lost on us that we’ve got water pouring into Lake Eyre, but in the southern parts of our state, the agricultural communities, they’re doing it extremely tough, indeed,” he said.

“We haven’t just seen the driest start of the year, we’ve seen the driest start of any year on the back of a very dry year last year. In fact, in many places, it’s the driest on record.”

The government has already promised $36 million to help farmers and producers prepare for, and respond to, drought conditions while expanding its disaster recovery allowance to more areas affected by floods.

But Nationals Leader David Littleproud wants Labor to bring back interest-free loans from the Regional Investment Corporation to help farmers experiencing hardship.

The commitment, introduced by the Coalition in 2020, according to Littleproud, offered farmers loans of up to $2 million loan with an initial two-year interest-free period, then three years interest-only before five years principal and interest, offering breathing space and allowed them to restock and replant.

Some Nationals also want Australia to abandon its pursuit of net zero emissions by 2050.

But Albanese said the science was clear about the increased frequency and ferocity of natural disasters.

“Climate change is real and we need to respond to it,” he said.

“The science has been proven, unfortunately, to be playing out.”

Unusual weather has also continued elsewhere on the east coast, with heavy fog and dust storms blanketing Sydney in the span of a week.

Sydney Harbour ferries were cancelled on Monday as a thick fog blanketed the city. The top of skyscrapers and the Harbour Bridge were only just visible through the cloud.

It came just a week after a dust storm hit the harbour city.

Albanese maintained his government had a plan to deal with climate change, noting Australia’s bid to co-host the United Nations’s climate change conference with Pacific nations in 2026.

Australia also remains on-track to meet its legislated 43 per cent emissions reduction target by 2030, according to Energy Minister Chris Bowen.

But Labor has recently come under fire from environmental groups for giving gas giant Woodside the green light for its North West Shelf project to continue operating to 2070 as it could release 4.3 billion tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions over 50 years, the Australia Institute has found.

Bowen has said Woodside will be required to ensure the project meets net zero emissions by 2050.

-with AAP