After days of mounting pressure, disaster assistance has finally been activated for parts of the New England region following last week’s severe snowstorm and heavy rainfall, however it looks like one hardest hit council has been left off the list.
Federal Minister for Emergency Management Kristy McBain and NSW Minister for Recovery Janelle Saffin announced on Thursday that a Natural Disaster Declaration had been made for five local government areas: Gunnedah, Narrabri, Tamworth, Uralla and Walcha.
At the time of publishing, Minister Saffin’s office had not responded to queries as to why Armidale Regional Council had not been included on the list of supported council areas. The omission is particularly odd given Armidale and Guyra were the hardest hit areas. Details about the announcement are not yet available on either the state or federal websites.
The declaration follows public calls from State Member for Northern Tablelands Brendan Moylan and Federal Member for New England Barnaby Joyce, who earlier in the week criticised delays by both levels of government and called for immediate support.
Under the jointly funded Commonwealth–state Disaster Recovery Funding Arrangements (DRFA), the declaration opens the door to a range of recovery measures for individuals, businesses, councils, and community organisations affected by the storm.
“The Australian Government is working closely with the NSW Government to ensure that affected communities across New England receive the support they need to recover,” said Minister McBain.
“The storms and snowfall have caused significant disruption to homes, roads, and services, and we know the impact is being deeply felt across these communities,” she said.
“This support will help ease immediate hardship and assist with longer term rebuilding efforts, including restoring public infrastructure and helping uninsured households get back on their feet,” Minister McBain said.
“Our focus remains on standing with these communities as they recover, rebuild and prepare for future severe weather events,” she said.
Support now available includes emergency accommodation and essential items for those in need, grants for uninsured low-income residents to replace essential household items and make structural repairs, and funding for councils to clean up and restore damaged public assets.
Also on offer are concessional loans for small businesses, primary producers and non-profit organisations, grants to sporting and recreation clubs, and freight subsidies to help primary producers transport livestock and fodder. Support is also available to emergency services for disaster response activities.
“The NSW Government is activating targeted support to meet immediate community needs and to get vital infrastructure back up and running,” said Minister Saffin.
“The recent storms have caused damage across the New England region and we want to ensure that councils in particular are supported so that communities know the repair and reconstruction work that needs to be done can be done,” she said.
“Roads, bridges and essential services have been damaged after being inundated with water and snow, and there’s a significant clean-up ahead to deal with debris and restore access,” Minister Saffin said.
“A natural disaster declaration is the first step in unlocking support these communities urgently need,” she said.
More information about disaster assistance is available at www.nsw.gov.au/emergency/recovery and www.disasterassist.gov.au
The news comes as Essential Energy confirms that all repairs have now been connected and all households should now have power. If you still do not have power at your place, please call Essential Energy on 13 20 80.
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