Queensland will be better protected and prepared for future natural disasters following today's announcement of 50 local projects funded under Round One of the Albanese Government's new Disaster Ready Fund.
Through the first round, Queensland will benefit from over $150 million in combined investment into disaster prevention, through the Federal, State and delivery partner co-contributions.
The Fund was an election commitment by the Albanese Government, and will deliver national long-term mitigation funding to help protect communities from natural disasters.
State and Territory governments submitted applications for a range of projects to improve mitigation and resilience, in collaboration with local Councils and community groups.
Successful Queensland projects include:
- Resilient infrastructure for Indigenous and remote communities including cyclone shelters and upgrades
- Foreshore strengthening along the Sunshine and Moreton Bay coast
- Live Stream Flood Monitoring Cameras for Brisbane
- Pormpuraaw Aerodrome Upgrade
- Monitoring and Early Warning Systems upgrades at Cloncurry
- Solar Panels and Battery Storage for Disaster Resilience at Mt Isa
- Water infrastructure upgrades at Gladstone to gain resilience in the water network and enable the existing Round Hill Reservoir (RHR) to be upgraded to a more resilient standard
- Extension of the Household Resilience Program in Central and North Queensland coastal communities to reduce damage from cyclones
- Enhanced energy security during disasters in South East Queensland
- Statewide disaster ready imagery
A full list of Queensland projects is available here: https://nema.gov.au/programs/disaster-ready-fund/round-one
Quotes attributable to Federal Minister for Emergency Management Murray Watt:
"Queenslanders are no strangers to natural disasters, and governments at all levels needed to take decisive action to better protect regions.
"It's a fact that Queensland is Australia's most disaster-prone state, and in recent years we haven't seen the level of federal investment we should have to keep communities safe," Minister Watt said.
"As we continue to fund disaster recovery and specific resilience programs in areas impacted by the December-March floods in the Gulf Country, it's critical we do more to build defences right across the state.
"From Cloncurry to the Gold Coast, Cairns to the Lockyer Valley, these projects will help communities better prepare for threats in the future.
"This is about more than just bricks and mortar. We are changing the way Australia deals with natural disasters by planning better for the future to ensure that communities all around the country are better prepared, less exposed and in the best possible position to recover when disasters strike."
Quotes attributable to Acting Minister responsible for the Queensland Reconstruction Authority Meaghan Scanlon:
"The evolution of the former Emergency Response Fund to become the Disaster Ready Fund makes sense as it allows us to embed greater resilience in communities before disasters strike, reducing impacts and recovery costs."
"We know significant and ongoing investment in disaster resilience and preparedness will be invaluable in the long term so we're really happy that Queensland will receive more than $84 million from this round of the DRF, to go towards 50 vital projects that will help protect Queenslanders right across our state.
"To ensure the delivery of this first round of the DRF, the Queensland Government will also be investing more than $22.6 million towards these projects, and we'll be working closely with councils over the months ahead to get things moving."
"The funded projects are wide-reaching, focusing on every aspect of Queensland, from our coastlines to our waterways and streets, and our remote townships to our cities.
"In particular, we're looking to make our Indigenous communities more disaster resilient, with aerodrome upgrades in Pormpuraaw, a disaster early warning system for Cherbourg, flood warning infrastructure for Doomadgee, and design and pre-construction works for a new cyclone shelter on Palm Island.
"As well as infrastructure, we're putting significant funding towards enhancing Energex's emergency response capabilities, and the extension of the Household Resilience Program that will allow more eligible homeowners in coastal parts of Queensland to strengthen their properties against cyclones."
