SENATOR THE HON MURRAY WATT
Queensland communities can now apply for a share of $7 million to deliver faster, more effective flood warnings.
Applications are now open for the latest round of Flood Warning Infrastructure Network, (FWIN) for the 23 southern Queensland councils hit hardest by the 2022 floods.
Funding can be used by councils for infrastructure including rainfall and river gauges, flood cameras, data repeaters and electronic signage.
The $7 million FWIN package is one of seven Queensland projects being funded through the Commonwealth's $75 million Emergency Response Fund commitment for Queensland, which is helping impacted communities recover from the 2022 South East Queensland floods.
It will help to create a network of best-practice flood warning gauges for Queensland, ensuring communities are better prepared to respond to flood events.
Queensland is currently home to more than 3,300 rainfall and river gauges that inform statewide flood warnings and forecasts.
Funds from this latest $7 million injection will be distributed equally among eligible councils, who can submit projects based around the local needs of their region.
Councils in local government areas activated for Disaster Recovery Funding Arrangements, (DRFA) following the South East Queensland Rainfall and Flooding event of 2022 can submit projects: Balonne, Brisbane, Bundaberg, Cherbourg, Fraser Coast, Gold Coast, Goondiwindi, Gladstone, Gympie, Ipswich, Lockyer Valley, Logan, Moreton Bay, Noosa, North Burnett, Redland, Scenic Rim, Somerset, South Burnett, Southern Downs, Sunshine Coast, Toowoomba and Western Downs.
The Queensland Reconstruction Authority (QRA) and the Local Government Association of Queensland continue to work with Australia's Bureau of Meteorology to strengthen BOM's National Disaster Warning Network.
Quotes attributable to Federal Minister for Emergency Management Murray Watt:
"Communities, emergency services and businesses need reliable access to flood forecasts and warnings, to help them prepare and respond to flooding events.
"We are pleased to work with the Palaszczuk Government to deliver this potentially life-saving program, designed to improve Queensland's flood warning network.
"Through this program, Councils will submit projects based on their own unique and localised requirements, ensuring local knowledge is front and centre when preparing for future disasters.
"The Albanese Government is committed to improving Australia's flood warning infrastructure network, including an additional $236 million investment over 10 years to buy and upgrade high priority flood gauges that are currently owned by local, state and territory governments in flood-prone areas."
Quotes attributable to Queensland Deputy Premier Steven Miles:
"When heavy rainfall arrives, flood warnings can make all the difference, ensuring timely and accurate information reaches the right people," Mr Miles said.
"This funding will bolster the resilience of our southern Queensland communities, helping to protect families and properties.
"Flooding is a significant and ongoing threat to our state, so we're taking proactive measures to reduce its impact, and through better preparedness ultimately making our communities safer.
"We can't stop natural disasters from happening but we can ensure we're prepared and informed, and that's what this $7 million investment in Queensland's Flood Warning Infrastructure Network is all about."
