The Western Australian Council of Social Services (WACOSS) and Town of Port Hedland will share in $277,898 to strengthen Western Australia’s preparedness for natural disasters.
The ³Ô¹ÏÍøÕ¾ Disaster Risk Reduction grants are jointly Commonwealth-Western Australia funded under the ³Ô¹ÏÍøÕ¾ Partnership Agreement on Disaster Risk Reduction, which forms part of the broader $261 million Disaster Risk Reduction Package, jointly funded by the Commonwealth, states and territories.
Minister for Emergency Management and ³Ô¹ÏÍøÕ¾ Recovery and Resilience, Senator the Hon Bridget McKenzie said the risk reduction grants support communities to identify and minimise the risk and impact of natural disasters.
“Devastating bushfires, cyclones, storms and floods are a familiar occurrence across our nation, we are supporting communities to reduce the risk of disasters and lessen their impact through the ³Ô¹ÏÍøÕ¾ Disaster Risk Reduction grants program,” Minister McKenzie said.
“The $240,688 will go to the Western Australian Council of Social Service to develop a strategic food policy and a planning template that can be used in disaster planning to ensure food security at both the state and local levels.
“The project will strengthen state disaster planning by improving the availability, transportation, storage and distribution of nutritious food for emergency relief across WA.”
Western Australian Minister for Emergency Services, the Hon Stephen Dawson was pleased the Town of Port Hedland would also benefit from a risk reduction grant.
“Port Hedland will receive $37,210 to assist the community to further understand the risks and storm tide impacts of cyclones and to boost preparedness in the region,” Minister Dawson said.
“This project will install storm tide height markers at six key locations across the Port Hedland region, accompanied by evacuation maps and a targeted community education campaign.
“It will strengthen community resilience in Port Hedland and is a great example of what the ³Ô¹ÏÍøÕ¾ Disaster Risk Reduction, joint Commonwealth-State grants program offers.”
With an allocation of $12.528 million from the Commonwealth to Western Australia over five years from 2019-20, the ³Ô¹ÏÍøÕ¾ Partnership Agreement is delivering on the priorities, five-year outcomes and 2030 goals of the ³Ô¹ÏÍøÕ¾ Disaster Risk Reduction Framework.
The Framework outlines a comprehensive national approach to proactively reducing disaster risk, now and into the future.
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