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Flood assistance grants extended

Flood assistance grants extended

Premier Anna Bligh extended the deadline for flood assistance grants to give primary producers and small business owners some breathing space as they struggle with a shortage of tradespeople.

“The cut off was going to be September 30 but we’ve now pushed that back to December 17,” Ms Bligh announced at the Community Cabinet meeting in Roma.

“After the biggest flood in more than 100 years in South West Queensland there is widespread damage.

“Some primary producers and small business owners are facing strong competition for tradespeople to help with the cleanup and repairs.

“Agforce President John Cotter raised this issue and put forward a strong case for the grants deadline to be extended.

“We’ve listened and we have extended the deadline to mid December to allow primary producers and small business owners more time to track down tradespeople.

“In the longer-term we will see the benefits of the flood, with full dams and grass growing in areas that have not seen decent rain for 10 years.

“But in the short-term the Government wants to ensure that primary producers can rebuild,” she said.

Primary Industries Minister Tim Mulherin said the extension of applications under Special Disaster Flood Assistance will allow genuine applicants to obtain the grants they need to rebuild.

“A huge area of the south west was covered in water with towns like Charleville, Roma and St George hit hard,” Mr Mulherin said.

“The extension will help the local community complete the necessary cleanup activities so the benefits of the flood can be realised by small businesses and primary producers.”

The grants have been made available under Natural Disaster Relief and Recovery Arrangements (NDRRA).

There are two types of grants:

* Tier 1 grants of up to $5000 immediately available to assist with the early recovery effort.
* Tier 2 grants of up to $20,000 provided on proof of expenditure. With the Tier 1 grants included, assistance up to a total of $25,000 will be available.

Small businesses (less than 20 employees) and primary producers in the following Council areas are eligible to apply for the flood recovery grant scheme: Diamantina, Barcoo, Quilpie, Bulloo, Murweh, Paroo, Maranoa Regional, Balonne, Blackall-Tambo Regional, Western Downs Regional. Primary producers in Banana Shire (Dawson River Sub Catchment), and Central Highlands (Comet River Sub Catchment) are also eligible to apply.