Ken O'Dowd (Flynn, National Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

On Monday, the Prime Minister signed off on nearly $30 million in Category D funding to further help regions affected by Cyclone Marcia, which occurred earlier this year. I have spoken to local governments in my electorate of Flynn and they are pleased and relieved with the announcement. It shows our government does care about regional Australia. North Burnett and Banana Shires are confident the Category D funding will help repair most of the damage to infrastructure in their areas.

There are four important recovery initiatives included in this funding package: $20 million for the Queensland Betterment Fund; $6 million for the clean-up and restoration of recreational assets; $1 million to assist councils with green waste clean-up; and $750,000 for three industry recovery officers to support primary producers and small businesses and help them with their claims. This is a significant package for communities and local councils, which the member for Capricornia, Michelle Landry, and I have both fought hard to get. The package will provide a boost for the four shires in the region—Keppel, Rockhampton, Banana and North Burnett.

These initiatives are in addition to the assistance our government has already made available under the NDRRA—that is, covering Categories A, B and C—which are helping to reconstruct the area. These categories cover emergency and recovery support for affected individuals, concessional loans and clean-up grants for small businesses, primary producers and not-for-profit bodies. The federal government has also funded local council and state agencies to rebuild damaged infrastructure. More than $5 million has been given to restore social networks and build community resilience throughout the recovery process. Small business and agricultural industries were wiped out by Cyclone Marcia.

This is a pleasing result and it shows our government is committed to ensuring people in regional areas are looked after. I know we have had many disasters in New South Wales and Queensland already this year. It is clear, from these actions, that this government stands up not just for the cities but also for the regions of Queensland. It is clear that this is a government for all Australians, and not just a few.