Government delivers $100 million Betterment Fund for disaster-hit Queensland
A $100 million ‘Betterment Fund’ has been announced to support disaster-affected communities, to recover from severe flooding and monsoons in the aftermath of ex-Tropical Cyclone Jasper.
This new injection of funding is part of a larger $119 million recovery and resilience package for Queensland that will be jointly funded by the state and federal governments.
This latest round of emergency funding is over and above previous assistance already announced and is targeted at rebuilding infrastructure and the long-term economic, community and environmental recovery of the region.
The $119 million recovery and resilience package comprises of the below components.
$100 million Betterment Fund: to help rebuild public infrastructure such as roads and bridges to a more resilient standard;
$15 million Environment Recovery Package: to assist in environmental investigations, clean-up and recovery of waterways, biodiversity and invasive species management, and national park recovery efforts;
$2.2 million Human and Social Recovery Package: to provide Community Recovery and Resilience Officers in targeted Local Government Areas (LGAs) and;
$1.4 million Economic Recovery Package: to support recovery of the regions’ tourism and livestock industries.
This funding is provided as per the Disaster Recovery Funding Arrangements (DFRAs).
Federal Minister for Emergency Management Murray Watt outlined how the new Betterment Fund will support long term disaster resilience in the area,
“Considering many of impacted areas were also hit by the 2019 Monsoon event, investment in Betterment - ensuring infrastructure is built back to a more resilient standard - is crucial to better protecting these disaster-prone regions in the future,” he said.
Queensland Premier Steven highlighted the support that the state’s transport infrastructure urgently needs, as this new round of investment will go a long way in providing that support.
“Our regional transport network was particularly battered, further isolating what are already some of our most remote communities,” Premier Miles said.
“That’s why we’re making a $100 million investment in Betterment projects for impacted communities, to ensure these Queenslanders are reconnected sooner when future disasters strike.”
Further challenges lie on the horizon, as the Bureau of Meteorology has warned Queenslanders to prepare for “severe impact” from a forecast category three cyclone to hit at some point this week.