Disaster recovery assistance has been extended to the Gwydir, Moree and Tamworth Local Government Areas in response to the severe storms and floods that occurred in December 2020.
Assistance is being provided through the jointly funded Commonwealth-State Disaster Recovery Funding Arrangements (DRFA).
Minister for Emergency Management David Littleproud said the heavy rainfall and flooding caused widespread damage across the impacted council areas.
“This was a serious event which has caused significant damage and disruption to local roads, businesses and residential properties,” Minister Littleproud said.
“Through the DRFA, a range of practical assistance measures are now available to help people get back on their feet and help councils get on with the clean-up and repairs to infrastructure.”
New South Wales Minister for Police and Emergency Services David Elliott said communities experienced significant losses and disruption due to heavy rainfall and flooding over several days, including road closures and power outages.
“The assistance being announced today (13 February 2021) will help cover the costs associated with the operational response and repairing damaged essential public assets, such as roads,” Minister Elliott said.
Assistance available under the DRFA may include:
- help for eligible people whose homes or belongings have been damaged
- support for affected local councils to help with the costs of cleaning up and restoring damaged essential public assets
- concessional interest rate loans for small businesses, primary producers and non-profit organisations
- freight subsidies for primary producers, and
- grants to eligible non-profit organisations
For information on personal hardship and distress assistance, contact Service NSW on 13 77 88. To apply for a concessional loan or grant, contact the NSW Rural Assistance Authority on 1800 678 593 or visit www.raa.nsw.gov.au
Further information on disaster assistance is available on the Australian Government’s Disaster Assist website at www.disasterassist.gov.au and the NSW emergency information and response website at www.emergency.nsw.gov.au
Source: Australian Government