More than $200,000 will be spent on helping communities in East Gippsland to better cope with natural disasters.
The Nationals Member for Gippsland Darren Chester today welcomed an announcement the Federal and State governments would jointly support East Gippsland Shire Council’s efforts to help people better cope with disasters.
“Our community’s ability to cope in a natural disaster is underpinned by the amount of work that is done beforehand in identifying risks and undertaking the work needed to mitigate those risks,” Mr Chester said.
“Gippsland has a long history of natural disasters, including flooding and bushfires. While we can’t predict when the next fire or flood will occur, work can to be done now to prepare.”
East Gippsland Shire Council Mayor Joe Rettino said $146,000 would be spent on ensuring disaster resilience was considered as part of planning and capacity building for at-risk communities.
“We will also be leading a $55,000 project designed to boost flood preparedness. This will include looking at ways to warn motorists using roads identified as high risk of flooding,” Cr Rettino said.
As part of the National Partnership Agreement (NPA) on Natural Disaster Resilience, the Federal and State governments have announced they would jointly fund both initiatives together with East Gippsland Shire Council.
The two projects were among 36 in Victoria to receive a share of $5.8 million in funding under the Natural Disaster Resilience Grants Scheme.
The successful projects, announced by the Federal Minister for Justice Michael Keenan and the Victorian Minister for Emergency Services James Merlino, aim to build more sustainable and resilient communities.
“Although many natural disasters are unpredictable, we can all be better prepared, and we cannot act alone. We are working with state and local governments to reduce the potentially destructive impacts of future disasters such as bushfires and floods,” Mr Keenan said.
“That is why under the NPA funding is cost-shared, with $3.4 million contributed by the Commonwealth, $2.4 million from the Victorian State Government, and $4.2 million from funding recipients.”
Mr Merlino said the selected projects would be led by state agencies, local councils, non-government organisations, volunteer organisations and researchers.
