More than $50 million in government funds will be given to communities of Far North Queensland to help with rebuilding following this week’s disastrous floods.
In addition to catastrophe recovery payments, the federal government will provide a “significant additional support package” worth $25 million for primary producers and another $25 million for small enterprises and nonprofit organisations.
$5 million for tourism operators and a $1 million top-up payment to each of the nine local governments will be given.
In Cairns, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese stated, “We’ll continue to work across the three levels of government to make a difference. It is a difficult period going forward.”
“Queensland is just getting things done,” Albanese remarked.
“Queensland is repairing from the damage and really looking out for each other.”
He thanked the emergency services that had come from the south of Queensland to help.
Albanese lobbied for the continuation of Australian and foreign vacations in Cairns to support the local economy while the area was being cleaned up.
“We need to make sure that as the floodwaters recede, the visits to this beautiful part of Australia don’t recede with them,” he stated.
“We want people to come here in increasing numbers, not reduced numbers, in order to provide support as this community recovers.”
Premier of Queensland Steven Miles stated that they will keep an eye on the requirements of the area during the recovery process to make sure they are meeting them.
In order to help the city, Miles urged families to take vacations in Cairns and corporations to host conferences at the convention centre.
When Cyclone Jasper made landfall as a Category Two system close to Wujal Wujal, some 115 kilometres north of Cairns, it cut off electricity to 40,000 homes and businesses.
After being stuck for days due to the water, over 100 members of the isolated Wujal Wujal village in the far north had to be airlifted to Cooktown.
Just a few days before Christmas, several of towns are still cut off.
Landslides have destroyed the normally picture-perfect 70-kilometre stretch of the Captain Cook Highway, making the only means of sending supplies north of Cairns, via boat.
Weeks may pass before the road is fixed, leaving Port Douglas, a popular vacation destination, isolated and rapidly running out of supplies.
