Wide Bay families and businesses need access to flood recovery assistance
10th January, 2011
Federal Member for Wide Bay, Warren Truss has called on Queensland Premier Anna Bligh, to declare the flood affected areas of the Fraser Coast, Gympie Regional and Sunshine Coast Councils as disaster areas.“Many businesses and primary producers in flood affected areas have suffered from loss of income and damage to property, and the Government now needs to offer all the assistance that is available under the Natural Disaster Relief and Recovery Arrangement (NDRRA) to help businesses and the community rebuild.
“Once the disaster declaration is in place, grants of up to $25,000 will be available to help small business and primary producers in the flooded areas covered by the declaration. Concessional loans of up to $250,000 and freight subsidies of up to $5,000 are also available under the NDRRA,” Mr Truss said.
A declaration to assist with the restoration of essential public assets is already in place for the Fraser Coast and Gympie Regional Councils
“This declaration ensures that Wide Bay communities which are affected by the flood can receive Federal and State Government support and benefits to replace and rebuild damaged roads and infrastructure,” Mr Truss said.
“The funding needs to be made available from the Commonwealth and State Governments to Councils as soon as possible, to allow them to fix roads and restore services. The community expects Government to act quickly and generously.”
Mr Truss said the flood will affect each community differently and the Government must be ready to respond with targeted assistance as it is needed.
“Federal State and Local Governments need to listen to the needs of each local area and work cooperatively to mitigate the disaster as much as possible and help the community to recover from the flood.”
Mr Truss said an Australian Government Disaster Recovery Payment for Queensland Flooding is now available for local families and individuals affected by the flood.
“While it is impossible to restore lost personal effects, the Australian Government, through Centrelink, is already offering some assistance to people affected by floods by providing cash grants to help them replace essential household contents which have been lost, damaged or destroyed as a result of the flood.”
Benefits include a payment of $1,000 for each adult or $400 for each child.
Mr Truss has visited flood areas in many parts of Queensland and New South Wales and over the weekend inspected areas in Maryborough affected by the flood. He plans to travel to other parts of the electorate including Tiaro, Woolooga and Gympie in the days ahead to ensure that the Government is doing as much as it can to help people in need.
“This is a very stressful time for families who have had their homes flooded, and for business proprietors and their employees who are now uncertain about the future. The Government must immediately extend its NDRRA to all flood affected communities to help them through this disaster.”
