Cobar Shire Council has joined 42 other Local Government Areas (LGAs) across the state that have been declared natural disaster areas due to the severe storms and flooding which began on September 14.
Our shire is one of the 12 latest LGAs to be damage assessed and will now be able to access joint disaster assistance funding.
Federal Minister for Emergency Management, Senator the Hon Murray Watt, said damage to areas within the LGAs had been significant.
“As the full extent of damage is realised, the State and Federal governments are continuing to extend support where it’s needed,” Minister Watt said.
“The intense floods have left councils with major repair works, so we’ve made assistance available to help Councils with the cost of rebuilding essential infrastructure and recovery operations to get them underway as soon as possible.”
NSW Minister for Emergency Services and Resilience and Minister for Flood Recovery Steph Cooke said the natural disaster declarations will unlock assistance for more communities affected by flooding.
“The flooding we are seeing across large parts of inland New South Wales is ongoing, slow moving and widespread which is making it challenging to assess the damage and impact as the emergency response continues,” Ms Cooke said.
“We are continuing to assess the impacts of this flood event as quickly as possible, with disaster declarations like these the crucial first step in unlocking assistance for those in need.”
The jointly funded assistance is being provided through the Commonwealth-State Disaster Recovery Funding Arrangements (DRFA).
Assistance available under the DRFA may include: help for eligible people whose homes or belongings have been damaged (eligibility criteria apply); support for local councils to help with the costs of cleaning up and restoring damaged essential public assets; concessional interest rate loans for small businesses, primary producers and non-profit organisations; and freight subsidies for primary producers.
For more information, contact Service NSW, visit the NSW Rural Assistance Authority website (www.raa.nsw.gov.au) or the Australian Government’s Disaster Assist website (www.disasterassist.gov.au).
