Toowoomba mayor Geoff McDonald encourages residents to apply for TC Alfred disaster relief grants after region given access by Qld government

Toowoomba residents will be able to apply for disaster relief payments following the damage caused by Tropical Cyclone Alfred, but the mayor has issued a warning along with it.

Toowoomba mayor Geoff McDonald has urged residents to not “point fingers” at each other after the region was granted access to disaster relief payments after Tropical Cyclone Alfred.

The Queensland Government on Wednesday approved the Toowoomba Regional Council’s request for locals to be able to apply for upwards of seven state and federal personal hardship grants offered, joining 11 other local government areas.

The grants include payments for those who lost food, accommodation, clothing, medication, essential services for more than five days, whitegoods, beds and other items.

It comes days after the volatile and unpredictable weather system created winds of up to 100km/h in the Garden City at the weekend, knocking down trees and cutting power to 26,000 properties at one stage.

Mr McDonald said it was now up to residents to self-assess whether they felt they were eligible and apply for as many grant programs as they felt were applicable.

“It’s good news for our residents and businesses that these payments have now been made available for eligible people across our region,” Mayor McDonald said.

“The impacts to residents and businesses because of this weather event have been varied, ranging from physical damage like trees impacting dwellings, water damage to dwellings, extended power outages and financial impacts to businesses.

“Those impacted by the weather events of the past week are encouraged to visit the web site, self-assess eligibility and apply for assistance.”

Mr McDonald said he hoped locals would encourage others who had been affected to consider applying, urging people not to accuse others of trying to rort the system.

“Also think about those that you think will be affected yet may not may not be aware of it,” he said.

“This is another chance for us to help each other out.

“I’m sure our community will work with each other and not abuse this opportunity, but actually benefit from it and therefore encourage residents to obviously look out for each other as well.

“The last thing we want to do is point fingers — if you don’t need those payments, don’t apply but if you think you do, follow the steps.”

Mr McDonald praised the leadership of premier David Crisafulli as well as the federal government for its support during TC Alfred.

“From a prepare, respond and recover perspective, I couldn’t ask for any more from both levels of government, to be perfectly honest,” he said.

“The premier was right on the front foot, the messaging was clear that that helped our community and therefore, I couldn’t be couldn’t be happier with the response.

“We are grateful to Federal Minister for Emergency Management Jenny McAllister and Queensland Minister for Disaster Recovery Ann Leahy for their announcement.”

For more information about the state government grants available, head to the website.

The Australian Government also offers two disaster recovery payments, which can be found on the Services Australia site.