February 6, 2013
Federal Member for Maranoa Bruce Scott today met with Attorney-General Mark Dreyfus in a bid to make sure Maranoa farmers receive their fair share of flood assistance funding.
“Currently, Category B assistance under the National Disaster Relief and Recovery Arrangements (NDRRA) is available to the Goondiwindi, South Burnett, Southern Downs and Western Downs regional council areas in my electorate,” Mr Scott said.
“While this is a start for our recovery process, this level of assistance does not offer the support so desperately needed now in many communities.
“My office has received numerous phone calls from constituents who have been severely impacted and, by these accounts of the devastation, they need Category C assistance.”
Mr Scott said the Goondiwindi Regional Council’s application for Category C assistance was currently being processed at a State Government level before being forwarded to the Federal Government for final appraisal.
“I met with the Attorney General today and he assured me that as soon as applications are received from the Queensland Government, Category C assistance would be activated,” he said.
Mr Scott said while some of the areas devastated by floodwaters were small in geographical area, they still “ticked all the boxes” to receive Category C assistance.
“They might be small in geographic area but the devastation my constituents face is the same,” he said.
“We need to cross all our Ts and dot all our Is to make sure we get our fair share of funding assistance.”
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The three tiers of NDRAA assistance:
- Category B assistance is available for primary producers and small business (less than 20 employees) and provides QRAA concessional loans of up to $250,000. Primary producers also have access to 50 per cent freight subsidies up to $5000.
- Category C assistance provides clean-up and recovery grants for primary producers and small business of up to $25,000. Eligible activities could include purchasing fodder, hiring contractors, clearing debris and leasing / hiring / purchasing of equipment / materials to clean premises or resume farming.
- Category D assistance (highest available support) provides farmers and business owners with technical and professional assistance for developing business recovery plans and assistance to retain their local workers for work such as clean-up and fence repair in the agricultural, fisheries and forestry sector.
