$8.9 million of $104.5 cyclone Seroja recovery arrangements allocated by State Government in two years

The State Government has revealed $8.9 million of the $104.5 million set for cyclone Seroja recovery funding has been allocated, almost two years after the program launched. Emergency Services Minister Stephen Dawson revealed in State Parliament on May 9 that $8,858,483 of the Disaster Recovery Funding Arrangements (DRFA) package for cyclone Seroja recovery efforts had been allocated, as of March 31. The $104.5 million package was revealed by the Federal and State governments in July 2021, and has been used to provide grants for those rebuilding, as well as reimburse local governments and pay for the operational costs of government agencies. Of the $8.9 million allocated, $4.8 million was given to households and businesses through grants. It is an increase of $2.2 million from November 2022 when it was revealed $6.7 million of DRFA funding had been distributed. Emergency Services Minister Stephen Dawson said the distribution had been limited partly due to labour shortages, COVID-19 pressures and supply chain issues, but also by the fact that insurance was higher than anticipated, and less needed government support. “However, DRFA funding is only part of the picture,” Mr Dawson said. “The McGowan Government has also provided millions for support programs and projects, including electricity bill relief, tourism marketing support and the recent announcement of a $9.2 million investment which will be shared between 16 local governments to aid recovery. Shadow emergency services minister Martin Aldridge said it was an “underwhelming” amount of money allocated. “I acknowledge when you activate an event, a lot is based on information available at the time, but this wasn’t something the Government rushed into,” Mr Aldridge said. The State Government said another $27.3 million was allocated through packages such as $9.2 million in funding to local governments, $3.1 million in electricity relief grants, $2.3 million through the Department of Communities’ emergency assistance program and $2.2 million from the State Government assistance package.