CENTRAL QUEENSLAND TO BENEFIT FROM BUSHFIRE RECOVERY GRANTS

Central Queensland communities will get a helping hand to recover from last year’s bushfires with $1.1 million in grants awarded for community recovery and resilience projects. 

 

The grants have been jointly funded by the Commonwealth-Queensland Disaster Recovery Funding Arrangements (DRFA).

 

Federal Minister for Natural Disaster and Emergency Management David Littleproud said the grants would deliver longer-term projects to drive recovery and build resilience.

 

“The bushfires really hurt central Queensland communities last year,” Minister Littleproud said.

 

“These grants are an opportunity to help local organisations as they help their communities to recover.

 

“Queenslanders are strong leaders and have a great community spirit which helps so much during recovery.”

 

Queensland Minister for Communities Coralee O’Rourke said non-government organisations, community groups and local governments had been invited to apply in the first round of funding. 

 

“We received a number of high quality applications, many of them from the areas worst affected by the bushfires in late 2018,” Minister O’Rourke said.

 

“I’m pleased to say that we have selected 21 recipients, and we’re looking forward to seeing the projects take shape.

 

“Grant recipients include Volunteering Queensland, Baffle Creek Community Inc., Rockhampton Regional Council, and Mackay Regional Council. Small businesses and primary producers were also selected and will purchase assets to benefit the whole community.”

 

The second round of the Flexible Funding Grants program will offer an additional $4.9 million and is expected to open in October.

The Commonwealth and Queensland Governments are contributing half each to the $12.042 million Community Recovery Fund under Category C of the Disaster Recovery Funding Arrangements (DRFA).