Personal hardship assistance has now also been extended to the Fraser Coast and Sunshine Coast local government areas as more of the devastating damage wrought by the ongoing South East Queensland flood emergency becomes apparent.
Personal Hardship Grants are available through the jointly funded Commonwealth-State Disaster Recovery Funding Arrangements (DRFA).
Federal Minister for Emergency Management and ³Ô¹ÏÍøÕ¾ Recovery and Resilience Senator the Hon Bridget McKenzie said the DRFA personal hardship assistance was in addition to a range of assistance already announced.
“Grants of up to $180 per person are available, to a maximum of $900 for a family of five or more, to eligible people in the flood-affected areas of the Fraser Coast and the Sunshine Coast to alleviate personal hardship and distress,” Minister McKenzie said.
“Grants for essential services safety reconnection (ESSR) have also been activated, and these are available to eligible residents who are uninsured and have experienced certain loss or damage to electricity, gas, water, sewerage or septic systems as a result of this disaster.
“We want the community to rest assured that teams at every level are working hard to identify just what assistance is required and where.
“We know the road to recovery is going to be a long one but the Australian Government and the Queensland Government stand in solidarity to provide support to affected communities as quickly as possible,” she said.
Queensland Minister for Fire and Emergency Services Mark Ryan said the latest activations mean that DRFA personal hardship assistance is now available in 11 local government areas in South-East Queensland.
“After the people of Maryborough experienced such terrible flooding just a short time ago, it’s devastating to see it happening again,” Minister Ryan
“Even worse, we’ve seen the Mary River reach 10.4 metres, a height not seen since ex-Tropical Cyclone Oswald in 2013.
“The consequences of such high water and strong flows are, of course, serious, and we are committed to providing all the support we can, so now flood-affected residents in the Fraser Coast and Sunshine Coast regions are able to access this important financial help, which had already been made available in Brisbane, Gympie, Ipswich, Lockyer Valley, Logan, Moreton Bay, Noosa, North Burnett and Somerset
“In addition, Goondiwindi Regional Council has been approved DRFA assistance for the repair and reconstruction of damaged essential public infrastructure and we will monitor to see additional relief measures are needed,” he said.
