Federal Member for Parkes, Mark Coulton today welcomed $27 million in funding for communities in New South Wales to enhance their resilience to natural disasters.
Projects are jointly supported with Commonwealth Government funding matched by New South Wales and funding recipients. This funding encourages a partnership approach with the funding recipients, helping to build a culture of shared responsibility in the face of natural disasters.
Mr Coulton said that recently the impact of natural disasters have really been felt across the Parkes electorate.
“Sadly residents know all too well the damage that comes from major flooding and storms that have hit parts of the Parkes electorate over the past few months,” Mr Coulton said.
“The impacts are felt not just be individuals, but by entire communities as a whole.”
The funding will strengthen community resilience to natural disasters through the continuation of New South Wales’ existing funding programmes, including the Community Resilience Innovation Program (CRIP), Emergency Volunteer Support Scheme (EVSS), bushfire and floodplain grants schemes, and State Emergency Management Projects.
“The Australian Government is focused on boosting the resilience of communities through the $52 million national partnership agreement to ensure they are better prepared for future disaster events,” Mr Coulton said.
Minister for Justice Michael Keenan said while the nature and size of the country’s landscape meant that natural hazards were a fact of life in Australia, more needed to be done to manage natural disaster risks.
“The Australian Government is supporting the states and territories as they assist those recovering from natural disasters, and are focused on boosting the resilience of communities to future events,” Mr Keenan said.