The Treasury is to make available $2 million for the State’s 77 Councils and one Town Authority to share so they can prepare for future disasters and severe weather.
Part of the 2020-21 Get Ready Queensland program, Treasurer and Minister responsible for the Queensland Reconstruction Authority, Cameron Dick said the move was needed for the public to be prepared for and protected against natural disasters.
“In the past decade Queensland had been impacted by more than 80 significant natural disaster events, leading to a reconstruction and recovery program of over $16 billion,” Mr Dick said.
“Experience has shown us though that communities well prepared prior to a disaster are more resilient and able to recover faster.”
He said Councils could use their Get Ready Queensland grants for a wide range of initiatives and resources, including online disaster dashboards, first aids kits, flood warning signs, community engagement activities, and advertising campaigns.
Ambassador for Get Ready Queensland, Johnathan Thurston said the grants would help communities better prepare for, respond to and build resilience to disasters.
“Queenslanders are all too familiar with disasters, including recent experience with catastrophic bushfires in the past two years as well as the monsoon trough flooding in Townsville and many other parts of the State last year,” Mr Thurston said.
“We also know disasters can take us by surprise, so we need to plan for the unexpected because it’s not a matter of ‘if’ but ‘when’ Queensland will experience its next extreme weather event,” he said.
