Funding for Queensland councils to Get Ready for future disasters

Published Friday, 19 June, 2020 at 01:00 PM

Treasurer, Minister for Infrastructure and Planning
The Honourable Cameron Dick

Queensland’s 77 councils and one town authority will share in $2 million to help their communities prepare for future disasters and severe weather as part of the 2020-21 Get Ready Queensland program.

Queensland Treasurer and Minister responsible for the Queensland Reconstruction Authority (QRA) Cameron Dick said it was vital Queenslanders were prepared for and protected against natural disasters.

“In the past decade Queensland had been impacted by more than 80 significant natural disaster events, leading to a reconstruction and recovery program of over $16 billion,” Mr Dick said.

“Experience has shown us though that communities well prepared prior to a disaster are more resilient and able to recover faster. That’s why our Get Ready Queensland disaster preparedness program is in place.

“Councils can use their Get Ready Queensland grants for a wide range of initiatives and resources, including online disaster dashboards, first aids kits, flood warning signs, community engagement activities, and advertising campaigns.

“They can also work collaboratively, like six north-west Queensland councils in 2019 that pooled their funding to deliver localised online resources for their region.”

Get Ready Queensland Ambassador Johnathan Thurston said the grants will help communities statewide better prepare for, respond to and build resilience to disasters.

“Queenslanders are all too familiar with disasters, including recent experience with catastrophic bushfires in the past two years as well as the monsoon trough flooding in Townsville and many other parts of the state last year,” Mr Thurston said.

“We also know disasters can take us by surprise, so we need to plan for the unexpected because it’s not a matter of ‘if’ but ‘when’ Queensland will experience its next extreme weather event.

“The Get Ready Queensland program encourages all Queenslanders to take steps now to protect what’s most important to them.

“This funding will help councils raise awareness and build resilience in their own communities.”

The 2020-21 Get Ready Queensland program is administered by the Queensland Reconstruction Authority as part of its mission to make Queensland the most disaster resilient state in Australia.

For more information on Get Ready Queensland visit getready.qld.gov.au.

ENDS

Media contact: Ben Doyle 0400 775 561