By KATE BANVILLE
COMMUNITIES throughout regional Queensland will be better positioned to ‘weather the storm’ when disaster strikes, with a raft of projects given the green light under a major funding overhaul.
Almost $400 million will be spent on 187 projects nationally under the Federal Government’s new ‘Disaster Ready Fund’.
Fifty projects worth $150m are set to get underway in Queensland through Federal, State, and delivery partner co-contributions.
Projects announced for the state’s Far North included almost $50,000 for mitigation works at Napranum and flood-prone areas, as well as $14m for upgrades to the Pormpuraaw aerodrome.
Additional projects included a disaster early warning system for Cherbourg, flood warning infrastructure for Doomadgee, and design and pre-construction works for a new cyclone shelter on Palm Island.
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Monitoring and Early Warning Systems were approved for upgrades at Cloncurry, as well as solar panels and battery storage at Mt Isa.
Emergency Management Minister Murray Watt said the funding would assist in keeping communities safe across Queensland, which is Australia’s most disaster-prone state.
“As we continue to fund disaster recovery and specific resilience programs in areas impacted by the December-March floods in the Gulf Country, it’s critical we do more to build defences right across the state,” Watt said.
Another $75 million from the Emergency Response Fund will be split across six infrastructure projects aimed at increasing flood resilience in Toowoomba, Gympie, Bundaberg, the Southern Downs, and Scenic Rim, along with areas impacted by the South-East Queensland Rainfall and Flooding event of February to April 2022.
The Emergency Response Fund will expire on July 1, to be replaced by the Disaster Ready Fund in a move the government says would streamline administrative processes and focus on longer-term mitigation projects as opposed to disaster response.
Under the ERF, the government was able to access up to $150 million per year for emergency response and recovery, and up to $50 million per year for natural disaster resilience and risk reduction.
The total amount of funds will remain the same under the DRF which is to be managed by the new National Emergency Management Agency.
