Hundreds still without power as Cyclone Fina relief payments spark political row
Power crews have restored electricity to most homes hit by Cyclone Fina, but 110 properties remain disconnected as workers tackle individual reconnection jobs across the Top End.
There are 110 homes and businesses still without power after Cyclone Fina, following a marathon effort by crews to reconnect the Top End.
Power and Water’s Michael Besselink said as of Friday morning, they had reached the point where each was a separate job.
“Earlier in the week, we could get major lines restored which got a lot of people on. Now we’re going to individual premises, and each one of those – some can be quick and some take a bit longer,” he told the ABC.
Mr Besselink said about half of the outstanding jobs had not provided certificates of compliance, which were required to plug in service lines to homes.
“I really appreciate the patience that people have had. The size of the effort – I think people understand that it’s not something that can be instantaneously fixed,” he said.
“It’s been a mammoth effort by a lot of people, and really the support of the public has been just fantastic.”
On Tuesday the NT government launched $250 disaster relief payments for those without power for more than three days.
More than 580 people attended the Welfare Recovery Centre on Wednesday where the payment could be collected.
The Labor Opposition criticised the disaster payments as sounding good on paper but helping almost no one.
“A small number of affected households who have had their power out for 72 hours or more will be able to access a $250 payment, the same amount as was made available following Cyclone Marcus seven years ago, despite rising cost of living expenses,” Opposition Leader Selena Uibo said.
Immediate hardship grants of $1537 per family have also been activated – but only for those evacuated during the cyclone.
No communities had to be evacuated during the storm.
“These relief payments have been purposely designed to knock out a majority of Territorians in their biggest time of need,” Ms Uibo said.
Northern Region Recovery Coordinator Tyler Thurston defended the eligibility cut off for the payment to those without power.
“Our standard advice that we give out pre season each year is that households should prepare for up to 72 hours of power disruption, and that’s been standard over recent years, so we ask the community to prepare for that,” he said.
About 19,500 homes lost power in when Cyclone Fina passed the Top End on Saturday evening.
The reconnection effort has been faster than the aftermath of Cyclone Marcus in 2018, when some were left without power for two weeks.
So far 1100 insurance claims have been lodged, according to the Insurance Council of Australia (ICA).
“While claims numbers remain low, the ICA and insurers are closely monitoring claims from this event with some insurers establishing on-the-ground presence in parts of Darwin to assist policyholders in the claims process,” a spokesman said.
“The ICA encourages anyone who has damage to get in touch with their insurer to commence to the claims process as soon as possible, even if you don’t yet know the full extent of the damage.”
Originally published as Hundreds still without power as Cyclone Fina relief payments spark political row
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