State and Federal governments chip in for bushfire-ravaged communities
NSW local councils hardest hit by the bushfires will have a $1 million in emergency assistance land in their bank accounts in the next 24 hours, Prime Minister Scott Morrison has promised. It comes after the Berejiklian State government pledged $1 billion.
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NSW local councils hardest hit by the bushfires will have a $1 million in emergency assistance land in their bank accounts in the next 24 hours, Prime Minister Scott Morrison has promised.
A total of $60 million — part of the federal government’s $2 billion National Bushfire Recovery Fund — will be given to 42 councils across NSW, Victoria, Queensland and South Australia as an “initial payment” to assist with urgent recovery works.
Each council gets $1 million with a further $18 million to be divided at the discretion of National Bushfire Recovery Agency co-ordinator Andrew Colvin.
Mr Morrison said this was in recognition that not all councils had the same area or population size.
“The co-ordinator will be ensuring that there is additional support and that can be many times what is provided in that base payment, to ensure councils have what they need,” he said.
Councils will receive the money on Friday, and will not be required to tell the federal government what they intend to spend it on before they receive it.
“What I want to happen is, if you’re a mayor in one of those areas today … I want to give them the confidence and support by providing this cash assistance right now,” Mr Morrison said.
“The Commonwealth is supporting you to go and make the immediate decisions which can provide immediate relief.”
Mr Morrison said councils might choose to spend the money on rebuilding local infrastructure, roads and other facilities, as well as providing staff and services to assist with recovery.
“Our local governments are the governments on the ground when it comes to trying to respond to these types of crises,” he said.
“They need that immediate cash injection to ensure that they can move confidently and start to respond to what is happening.”
Emergency Management Minister David said the bushfire recovery would be led at a local community level.
“They are the ones that know how to rebuild their communities and rebuild the lives of those Australians impacted by this devastating fire,” he said.
“We have to understand this is the first tranche but what those councils can understand today is the cheque is cut. It is ready to roll.
“Get on with the job in the comfort of knowing that the Australian Government is standing shoulder to shoulder with you to make sure what you need is there.”
Mr Morrison said he would be making further announcements about spending on wildlife rehabilitation, health services for bushfire victims and support for small business in the coming days.
The Federal funding boost comes after the Berejiklian State government yesterday pledged $1 billion to help bushfire-affected communities across the state rebuild critical infrastructure such as roads, schools and rail lines damaged or destroyed in blazes.
Premier Gladys Berejiklian said the money – to be spent over the next two years – would provide an “immediate source of funding” for communities and “fast-track” the recovery process in the wake of the state’s worst bushfire season on record.
“It can range from a bridge to a road to a rail line to a school or hospital, or it can also extend to communications and energy infrastructure as well,” she said.
“We’re always standing shoulder to shoulder with those who have been impacted by this devastating catastrophe that’s come to NSW.”
Asked where the money would be drawn from, Treasurer Dominic Perrottet said he had identified $1 billion in “unallocated capital reserves” across government.
“Those funds will be there over the next two years to provide that support for infrastructure,” he said.
But he would not be drawn on how badly it would impact the state’s forecast Budget surplus of $702 million in 2019-20, which was announced during the Half-Yearly Review in December.
“We’re less focused on the Budget and we’re completely focused on supporting communities right across the state,” Mr Perrottet said.
Ms Berejiklian said the areas prioritised for funding will be communities where the fire threat has subsided.
“We’re still waiting to get those early assessments – it’s too early to be able to tell you exactly which communities we’ll be supporting first,” she said.
“But this is also a concurrent process – we don’t just have to focus on one community because of the amount of funds available.”
The NSW government has already committed $231 million in disaster assistance funding including $166 million to aid firefighting efforts.
Minister for Families, Communities and Disability Services Gareth Ward also launched a housing assistance service today to support residents left permanently or temporarily stranded by the bushfires.
“This service will make it easier for residents impacted by these tragic bushfires to access support and secure a home or safe place to stay as soon as possible,” Mr Ward said.
“The NSW Government has also established a dedicated Bushfire Housing Assistance Response Team to proactively support communities that have been devastated by fires in the Illawarra, Shoalhaven and Southern NSW region.”
Labor leader Jodi McKay said: “While Labor supports every cent going to support fire-affected communities, Gladys Berejiklian must guarantee that this is new money, not just funding that local communities would have received anyway”.
The latest impact assessment by NSW Rural Fire Service shows 1870 homes have been destroyed this fire season while 753 have been damaged.
Meanwhile, 150 facilities have been damaged and 3774 outbuildings have been destroyed.
For more information about the Bushfire Housing Assistance Service, visit this link.
NSW councils getting $1 million
Armidale
Ballina
Bega Valley
Bellingen
Blue Mountains
Byron
Central Coast
Cessnock
Clarence Valley
Eurobodalla
Glenn Innes Severn
Hawkesbury
Inverell
Kempsey
Kyogle
Lismore
Lithgow
Mid-Coast
Mid-Western
Nambucca
Port Macquarie-Hastings
Queanbeyan-Palerang
Richmond Valley
Shoalhaven
Singleton
Snowy Monaro
Snowy Valleys
Tenterfield
Tweed
Walcha
Wingecarribee
Wollondilly
Originally published as State and Federal governments chip in for bushfire-ravaged communities