March 13, 2013
Time is running out if you want to find out information about what flood recovery assistance is available … and enjoy a free breakfast!
There’s only two more South Burnett Community Recovery sessions available, tomorrow morning from 6:30am at Wooroolin Hall, and tomorrow evening from 6:30pm at Mondure Hall.
The sessions – which present information from Centrelink, the South Burnett Regional Council, the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry, BIEDO, AgForce, Centacare and BlazeAid all in one place – have been held in various South Burnett towns since February 22.
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South Burnett Mayor Wayne Kratzmann addressed farmers at this morning’s meeting which was held outside the Kumbia Memorial Hall.
He criticised the assistance available from the Federal Government, saying that although he welcomed the “betterment” money offered to Queensland, giving $8 million to Ipswich was just a “political announcement”.
“This is not a time for political stunts. It is a time to be fair dinkum,” he said.
Mayor Kratzmann said it made no sense that Category C assistance did not cover seed or fertilizer, or that the South Burnett had been excluded from assistance to small businesses and not-for-profit groups, or that assistance for fencing had been denied, despite the fact BlazeAid was working in the region.
He said that maybe he should jump on a plane and go to Canberra to knock on some doors …
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Cr Kratzmann said council would soon be announcing a “Clean Up South Burnett Farms Day” – a replacement for Clean Up Australia Day. This would provide townspeople the opportunity to “help you guys as much as we can”.
“We know that one day is not a lot but it will show that people do care. Our farmers are our number one priority, I can assure you of that.”
He said council was also reconsidering the storage of “road closed” signs.
“We need to get them out to rural fire brigades and farmers,” he said. “Local knowledge is better than council knowledge.”
“We will get signs that you can put in your sheds, and then you can put the signs up and take signs down.
“When we get another flood – it’s not if – we will be prepared.”
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Application forms would be placed on the South Burnett Regional Council website soon for farmers to apply for grants from the funds raised from the Mayor’s Red Earth South Burnett Flood Appeal.
Cr Kratzmann said an independent committee had been established which would assess applications.
The funds would have to be spent in the South Burnett but council was not concerned with what was purchased … “we trust you”.
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Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry Farm Financial Counsellor Alan Broome explained there were three forms of assistance available from QRAA:
- $25,000 grant to repair any direct damage caused by the January rain event. This did not cover seed or fertilizer. Application forms can be downloaded from the QRAA website. “If you need help to fill it out, please put up your hand,” he said.
- A loan of up to $250,000 over seven years at 1.7 per cent interest, which can cover running costs until farms get back on their feet
- Further grant and loan packages, up to $650,000, but applicants had to prove the importance of their business in a regional context
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