The Australian Government has provided funding to local community projects across Capricornia under the Black Summer Bushfire Recovery Grants program, with projects in Livingstone, Rockhampton and Whitsunday local government areas receiving a total of over $9 million in support.
Federal Member for Capricornia Michelle Landry said new emergency services facilities and upgraded community amenities are among the 524 projects funded under the program.
Ms Landry said the overall program funding was boosted by $110 million to $390 million to further support communities around Australia to recover from the 2019-20 bushfires.
“As part of the now $2.2 billion National Bushfire Recovery Fund, the Black Summer Bushfire Recovery Grants program is backing projects which the affected communities have said will best support their ongoing recovery,” Ms Landry said.
“The grants will fund a broad range of recovery and resilience projects, from social and community wellbeing right through to projects that support local jobs, small businesses and infrastructure.
“It was important that we funded projects based on need and merit and which offered a lasting and tangible impact, tailored to local needs and conditions. The quality of the projects funded shows that our ‘locally led’ approach works.
“We understand that recovery from bushfires takes time, and we will continue to support impacted communities through their recovery from the devastating Black Summer bushfires of 2019-2020.”
Ms Landry said local projects funded included:
Livingstone Shire Council area:
- Barmaryee Restoration and Capability Enhancements
- Bushfire Recovery and Resilience Officer
- Bushfire suppression and Mitigation Tools
- Construction of Outdoor Movie Screen
- Economic Development Officer – Disaster Recovery
- Livingstone Local Disaster Coordination Centre Technology Implementation
- Rural Fire Brigade Access Improvements
- The Station Community Recovery Hub
Rockhampton Regional Council area:
- Bushfire Resilience Officer – Local Resilience Planning
- Emergency Services Staging Upgrade
- Increased Capacity for Firefighting Response
- Rockhampton City Hall Generator Replacement
- Rockhampton Zoo Bushfire Resilience Project
Whitsunday Regional Council area:
- Whitsunday Bushfire Resilience
- Whitsunday Regional CHF Radio Disaster Communications Project
- Whitsundays – NBN Bushfire Resilient HPC Project
Details of the funded projects are available on the National Recovery and Resilience Agency website at: https://recovery.gov.au/programs/black-summer-grants