Disaster assistance for more flood-impacted communities in Queensland

Disaster assistance is now available in Etheridge Shire Council and Whitsunday Regional Council to repair roads and other infrastructure following extreme monsoonal rainfall.

Assistance is being provided through the jointly funded Commonwealth-State Disaster Recovery Funding Arrangements (DRFA).

Federal Minister for Emergency Management David Littleproud said the Commonwealth and Queensland governments are making sure assistance is readily available to flood affected communities to help with clean-up costs and repairs to public infrastructure.

“This will help flood affected councils clean up and reopen roads, allowing communities to get back on their feet sooner,” Minister Littleproud said.

“The recent monsoon flooding has hit a number of Queensland communities hard and the impacts are still being realised.

"We’ll keep standing with these communities and make more assistance available if needed."

Queensland Minister for Emergency Services Craig Crawford said the funding will assist the rural and remote councils with restoring damaged public infrastructure and alleviate the financial burden on these impacted communities.

“The communities of Etheridge and Whitsunday were both heavily impacted by the monsoon floods in 2019 and, just like last year, we are again pleased to be able to provide assistance following this latest flooding event,” Minister Crawford.

“As additional information comes to light in relation to the impacts of the floods, the Queensland Government will continue to work with the Commonwealth to provide impacted communities with the recovery assistance they need.”

Assistance for the 2020 Queensland monsoon floods is now available to 22 councils: Barcaldine, Barcoo, Blackall-Tambo, Boulia, Burdekin, Burke, Carpentaria, Cloncurry, Cook, Croydon, Etheridge, Flinders, Kowanyama, Longreach, McKinlay, Mornington, Mount Isa, Palm Island, Richmond, Townsville, Whitsunday and Winton.

Information on disaster assistance can be found on the Australian Government’s Disaster Assist website at www.disasterassist.gov.au and the Queensland Government’s Disaster Management website at www.disaster.qld.gov.au.  

Media contacts
Minister Littleproud: Douglas Ferguson 0455 448 985
Minister Crawford: Ben Brew 0468 839 551