❓ The Premier outlines the WA government's collaborative efforts with the federal government in response to the Kimberley floods, including a freight subsidy scheme and temporary residential accommodation. Further recovery announcements are expected.
AnsweredQoN 86Legislative Assembly
QuestionView source ↗
KIMBERLEY FLOODS — RECOVERY ARRANGEMENTS
86. Ms D.G. D'ANNA to the Premier:
I refer to the impacts of ex–tropical
cyclone Ellie and the subsequent flooding across the Kimberley region.
(1) Can the
Premier please advise the house on how the McGowan Labor government is working
with the federal Albanese government to respond?
(2) Can the Premier provide an
update on the WA government's ongoing role in the recovery efforts?
86. Ms D.G. D'ANNA to the Premier:
I refer to the impacts of ex–tropical
cyclone Ellie and the subsequent flooding across the Kimberley region.
(1) Can the
Premier please advise the house on how the McGowan Labor government is working
with the federal Albanese government to respond?
(2) Can the Premier provide an
update on the WA government's ongoing role in the recovery efforts?
AnswerView source ↗
(1)–(2) I
thank the member for Kimberley for the question and I congratulate her. When I was
up there a few weeks ago, I saw the member in action with local residents, helping
people and taking up issues. It was really terrific; it was a great
performance. I know it has been ongoing and the member for Kimberley deserves a
great deal of credit.
The
once-in-100-year flood saw 400 millimetres of rain in just 48 hours in some
areas. Obviously, it was a dramatic and traumatic event that damaged roads,
houses and infrastructure across a large part of the Kimberley. The
commonwealth and state governments have been working cooperatively on recovery
arrangements. We can announce today two significant steps towards recovery
through the joint commonwealth–state disaster recovery funding
arrangements. The first is a freight subsidy scheme for $42 million to assist
in transparent costs. As we know, because the Fitzroy Crossing Bridge is down
and because some of the roads are damaged, transparent by freight from the East
Kimberley to the southern parts of the state is disrupted—and it has to
go the other way, which is an enormous distance. That is impacting costs on
houses and businesses across that part of the Kimberley. State and federal
governments have agreed on a freight subsidy scheme backdated to 1 January. As
I understand it, this is the first time it has occurred as part of disaster
relief funding arrangements. It is obvious because of the geography that doing
something such as this is a good thing; so we have agreed that between the
state and commonwealth governments. I thank the commonwealth government for its
support for that.
The
second initiative we have agreed under this is the installation of temporary
residential accommodation. Currently, displaced people have emergency
accommodation, but we are working on the arrangements for temporary
accommodation to be put in place as soon as possible. Houses will be built; the
housing rebuild is at least 60 houses that
we know of, which will be very expensive to achieve, but we are absolutely committed to providing that housing. I thank the commonwealth for the temporary
accommodation arrangement as well, which
will be jointly funded between the two. We have further things to announce in coming days and weeks as part of the
recovery effort for the Kimberley. I thank everyone involved. I thank
the people of the Kimberley for their forbearance. I thank all the emergency
responders, volunteers, local, state and federal governments and the Australian
Defence Force—the list goes on—for the recovery. It will take
some time to get it back to where it was, but we are on our way.
thank the member for Kimberley for the question and I congratulate her. When I was
up there a few weeks ago, I saw the member in action with local residents, helping
people and taking up issues. It was really terrific; it was a great
performance. I know it has been ongoing and the member for Kimberley deserves a
great deal of credit.
The
once-in-100-year flood saw 400 millimetres of rain in just 48 hours in some
areas. Obviously, it was a dramatic and traumatic event that damaged roads,
houses and infrastructure across a large part of the Kimberley. The
commonwealth and state governments have been working cooperatively on recovery
arrangements. We can announce today two significant steps towards recovery
through the joint commonwealth–state disaster recovery funding
arrangements. The first is a freight subsidy scheme for $42 million to assist
in transparent costs. As we know, because the Fitzroy Crossing Bridge is down
and because some of the roads are damaged, transparent by freight from the East
Kimberley to the southern parts of the state is disrupted—and it has to
go the other way, which is an enormous distance. That is impacting costs on
houses and businesses across that part of the Kimberley. State and federal
governments have agreed on a freight subsidy scheme backdated to 1 January. As
I understand it, this is the first time it has occurred as part of disaster
relief funding arrangements. It is obvious because of the geography that doing
something such as this is a good thing; so we have agreed that between the
state and commonwealth governments. I thank the commonwealth government for its
support for that.
The
second initiative we have agreed under this is the installation of temporary
residential accommodation. Currently, displaced people have emergency
accommodation, but we are working on the arrangements for temporary
accommodation to be put in place as soon as possible. Houses will be built; the
housing rebuild is at least 60 houses that
we know of, which will be very expensive to achieve, but we are absolutely committed to providing that housing. I thank the commonwealth for the temporary
accommodation arrangement as well, which
will be jointly funded between the two. We have further things to announce in coming days and weeks as part of the
recovery effort for the Kimberley. I thank everyone involved. I thank
the people of the Kimberley for their forbearance. I thank all the emergency
responders, volunteers, local, state and federal governments and the Australian
Defence Force—the list goes on—for the recovery. It will take
some time to get it back to where it was, but we are on our way.
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