The Coalition Government has provided funding to local community projects in Cowper under the Black Summer Bushfire Recovery Grants program, with projects across the electorate on the Mid North Coast receiving up to $30,411,728 in support.
Pat Conaghan Federal Member for Cowper said 32 initiatives from his electorate are among the 524 projects funded under the program.
Mr Conaghan 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,” Mr Conaghan 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.”
Local projects funded included:
| Australian Red Cross Society | Australian Red Cross 2019/2020 Australian Bushfire Recovery Program | The Australian Red Cross 2019/2020 Australian Bushfire Recovery Program (the Program) is a community based social recovery and resilience program supporting communities impacted by the 2019/20 Bushfires. Red Cross provides information, practical assistance, and emotional support to enhance community recovery and resilience – focussing on the psychological, social and cultural aspects of wellbeing. Red Cross Recovery Officers and Volunteers share resources and deliver recovery and psychosocial training to individuals, communities and groups; and work with communities to strengthen resilience to future disasters. The Program reflects needs of LGA’s through a community-led approach, working with government, community services and groups. | $7,256,492 |
| Bellingen Readers and Writers Festival Incorporated | Bellingen Readers & Writers Festival 2022/23 | Over 3 days, the BRWF showcases the most high-profile and award-winning names in Australian art, science and culture to local audiences here in regional NSW. This all-ages event that not only engages some of the most respected names in Australian arts, but also supports the local community in manifold ways. In the aftermath of the Black Summer bushfires, it is a key physical forum for the region to express its identity, aspirations, and the challenges faced by a diverse population. With the funding sought within this application, the reach and engagement of these myriad opportunities and activities will be extended even further, with a more comprehensive platform of events made available to schools, libraries and audiences further afield. | $98,080 |
| Bellingen Shire Council | Bellingen Skate Park Upgrade Project | The Bellingen Skate Park Upgrade Project will see important upgrades to the skate park focusing on developing the facilities social and recreational activities. The upgrade will support the mental, social and physical wellbeing of the local community. | $69,600 |
| Billion Bees Ltd | Billion Bees – Black Summer Bushfire Recovery – Connecting Communities | The Billion Bees – Black Summer Connecting Communities, proposal focuses on building community resilience, using community engagement, trade skills sharing, education in project management and creating employment opportunities by developing a program with Aboriginal Land Council’s, Men’s Shed, Local Government and Schools. This project draws together local community groups to work on an environmental project that brings Australian native stingless bees and beehives into their community. |
$915,035 |
| Bowraville and District Ex-Services Club Ltd | Bowraville Ex-Services Club Community Disaster Hub & Communications Centre | The project will upgrade power, communications, and facilities at the Bowraville Ex-Services Club to provide a self-contained emergency refuge for the community.
The grant funding will pay to enhance infrastructure including installation of additional roof solar panels, battery backup and diesel generator for emergency power. Satellite communications will provide emergency contact for families, an external LED sign will provide emergency updates, a refrigerated container to store frozen food from affected residents, and a covered area with showers and disability access. Storage of mattresses, bedding, clothes, medical supplies, and baby needs will ensure the community is ready and well equipped to cope with future disaster situations. |
$2,508,359 |
| Coffs Harbour & District Local Aboriginal Land Council | Gumbaynggirr Fire Management Resource Expansion and Development | To supplement the new Fire Depot at Raleigh, Coffs Harbour & District Local Aboriginal Land Council (CHDLALC) will acquire fire management assets to maintain fire trails and respond to fires and increase their cultural burning capacity
Further CHDLALC will perform on-ground fire management activities such as Fire Trail Maintenance and Mitigation work to protect the built environment and run an emergency fire response training series out of the new Fire Depot to help reduce the severity of fire disasters for the region This will enhance Indigenous people’s resources, capacities and capabilities to perform emergency fire management and ongoing fire management services for Gumbaynggirr Country |
$435,000 |
| Crescent Head Country Club Ltd | Crescent Head Community & Social Hub Inc. Emergency Evacuation Centre | Crescent Head Country Club is the only Emergency Evacuation Centre available to local residents. Positioned near the beach, this is the safest accessible geographic point for local residents and tourists during a bushfire emergency. The club plans to expand to better accommodate the needs of the community providing further community resilience and less reliance on government resources. The Project – expand the Crescent Head Country Club facility to include a ‘Community and Social Hub’ (C&SH) to deliver services and support for the growing Crescent Head community, providing jobs, economic benefit and a fit for purpose community hub incorporating an Evacuation Centre. |
$4,000,000 |
| Dorrigo Plateau Local Aboriginal Land Council | The North Dorrigo Hall Restoration for Resilience | In order for the North Dorrigo Hall to be serviceable to the community – either as a space of refuge or as a source of water – and to mitigate some of the impacts of climate change, the building needs to be restumped and made stable. Once this has been completed the roof will be replaced, with appropriate guttering. The water collected from the roof can then be channelled into the water tank. This water can then be utilised to either protect the building itself, allowing the hall to be a safe refuge for the surrounding rural landholders as well as the town and in addition providing a easily accessible water source for fire abatement. |
$100,000 |
| Jaanymili Bawrrungga Incorporated | Cultural burn workshops and related events for the Bowraville community | Provide cultural burning workshops as a vehicle to bring together Bowraville people, Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal, men and women. Partners will include NPWS, FRNSW, RFS, Bowraville LALC, LandCare, Schools, farmers, TAFE and Local Council. Two to three burns held per year on country in mid 2022 and mid 2023, with the support of many pre and post community events. The burns will be filmed for promotion and community events. Coordination provided by a project officer, and supported by a culture officer. Other partners will assist in-kind with equipment and access to country. Cultural information will be shared, new relationships established, new skills learned, future risk and damage will be reduced, and resilience and optimism enhanced. | $470,072 |
| Justice Connect | Lending a Legal HAND: Helpful Advice following Natural Disaster | Communities affected by natural disasters require legal assistance. Unaddressed legal problems affect people’s health, financial stability, and relationships. In the face of compounding disasters, there is also a need to strengthen preparedness so that unresolved legal problems from past disasters are not exacerbated. This project will strengthen our relationships with local community organisations, including community legal centres, across 16 LGAs to better identify disaster-related legal problems early and establish pathways to connect people with legal assistance. We will work with our pro bono legal firms and leverage our digital solutions to deliver legal assistance that supports communities to rebuild and strengthen resilience. | $285,696 |
| Kempsey Neighbourhood Centre Inc | Art From Our Place | This project aims to engage Aboriginal women and girls in developing a social enterprise and create opportunities to earn an income and increase skills and confidence in job seeking or pursuing business opportunities. This will involve Aboriginal women and girls in the South, West Kempsey and outlying areas – Willawarrin, Wittitrin and Bellbrook – working with an established Aboriginal artist/s to develop art work and engage in workshops facilitated by experienced KNC staff and local partners to build skills in business management, budgeting, on line and retail sales . This will build on a successful exhibition organised as part of another program and will contribute to community cohesion and cultural connection. | $140,300 |
| Legacy Park Pty Ltd | Legacy Park – South Kempsey Regional Gyprock Repurposing Facility | South Kempsey Regional Gyprock Repurposing Facility purpose to create jobs and recycling gyprock from the construction industry into gypsum and prevent this waste item going into landfill. This product is then used by the agricultural industry to enhance soil quantity and improve productivity. Our project will save over 5000-10000 tonnes of Gyprock on the Mid North Coast going into landfill. Legacy Park Pty Limited is a subsidiary of the Group Aus Blue Bins and is a family run business seeking to repurpose construction and demolition (C&D) waste for our environment and communities and at the same time create new jobs for our community. | $1,036,186 |
| Lifeline Direct Limited | Leveraging local peers to connect communities and enhance mental health | Expanding our work through our established community networks across 10 LGAs, we aim to normalise conversations about mental health. This project builds on the learnings of our Bushfire Recovery Service. Our objectives are optimal recovery and resilience against future disasters. We will achieve this through two Lifeline-trained teams: our employed Peer Workers in each LGA are the go-to Advocates who identify and refer within our extensive networks. Our voluntary Connectors are members of local community groups who receive our community education to identify signs of stress and mental ill-health through casual community contact. This two-tier model of trusted peers has proven successful. | $2,180,890 |
| Nambucca Heads RSL Club Ltd | Nambucca Heads Community and Social Hub Inc. Emergency Evacuation Centre | The Nambucca Heads RSL Club is the only designated emergency evacuation centre for the population of over 6,300 people. Our Club has been used for an evacuation centre during the Black Summer Bushfires 2019/20 and the March 2021 Floods. We are seeking to upgrade and improve our preparedness for future disasters and undertake the following: Replace our leaking with roof with a new roof, install solar panels to improve energy efficiency and consumption, replace the old water heater, replace the air conditioning units and install a plant room, remove damaged ceilings and replace. Completion of this essential infrastructure will ensure our facility meets the needs of our growing and aging population. |
$2,007,800 |
| Nambucca Valley Council | Newee Creek Rural Fire Service Brigade Station Upgrade | Upgrade and extend the Newee Creek RFS brigade building, including construction of 3 new vehicle bays, a designated training room for volunteer firefighters, accessible toilet and shower facilities, and kitchen upgrade. This project will also deliver uninterrupted power supply to the station, and connection to the town water supply. This project deliverable will ensure the services of the RFS can continue to be maintained during bushfire emergencies in the future, providing a safe meeting place for volunteers and the greater community. The project outcomes will be: * upgraded facilities for RFS volunteers; * safe and accessible space for volunteers and the community during an emergency; * space for continued training for volunteers; |
$847.520 |
| Nambucca Valley Council | Telecommunications improvements for Nambucca Valley – small cell options | This project would see the establishment of a Satellite Small Cell solution for Burrapine in the remote area 41km west of Macksville, that was heavily impacted by the bushfires in November 2019, and a fibre based small cell solution in the seaside village of Valla Beach that is in a high fire risk area, with only one road out in the event of an emergency. Both areas are currently considered “black spots” in the telecommunications coverage in the Nambucca Valley LGA. | $445,005 |
| New South Wales State Emergency Service Volunteers Association Ltd | The First Responder Resilience Program (FRRP) | The FRRP will be designed to provide volunteer frontline managers of first responder organisations with the skills and the confidence to engage positively with their people. These skills will be developed through a series of scenario based sessions where leaders work together to enhance their communication expertise. The FRRP will be delivered local emergency volunteer team leaders at all 31 Category 1 LGAs and include a train the trainer component, the development of an online knowledge hub to support the program delivery and include a research component to determine efficacy of the program. | $463,900 |
| Omnicare Alliance Ltd | Wauchope Seniors HUB – Creativity Shed | Our project addresses social issues arising from the 2019 bushfires where not all victims were directly impacted by loss of life or property. Our aged population was severely impacted by isolation due to months of smoke haze and staying home to avoid exacerbating chronic illnesses. This was further impacted by COVID-19 with many seniors isolated since July 2019.The project builds on our HUB, currently available to people living with dementia, by expanding access to all seniors. Participation in creative activities builds confidence and connectivity with others addressing issues arising from extended isolation. The customised activities are not available in current services, further increasing the appeal to a variety of impacted seniors. | $475,200 |
| Port Macquarie Basketball Assn Inc | Port Macquarie Basketball – Rebuilding Community Connections through Sport | The Rebuilding Connections Program will unite the community through sporting carnivals, social occasions, celebrations and learning opportunities. With over 50 years heritage in community sport, Port Macquarie Basketball Association has more than 630 members from across the geographic and demographic footprint of the Port Macquarie Hastings Council area. Reaching both men and families, the program will build resilience through sporting development and promote a volunteer culture; increase community connections and support physical wellbeing within a vibrant sporting community. It will address the scars of two years of disruption that started in 2019 with weeks of play cancelled as the basketball stadium filled with bushfire smoke. |
$74,450 |
| Port Macquarie Hastings Council | Building Bushfire Risk Mitigation Tools | Building Bushfire Tools – Proactively reducing bushfire disaster risk by empowering local Council and improving engagement pathways and preparedness of the community
Mitigating historic and future bushfire impacts and climate related disasters by improving knowledge and on-ground activity of 3,686 km2 through capacity building the local Council and 80,000 local residents. |
$635,000 |
| Port Macquarie Surf Life Saving Club Inc | Port Macquarie Resilience and Future Rescue Preparedness | Port Macquarie Resilience and Future Rescue Preparedness program will provide specialist resources, rescue equipment and rescue training to build a stronger community and ability to respond to future disaster needs. The program will aid in retain existing and attract new Surf Lifesaving members to the club to support future disaster recovery responses. The program will further support the local economy through servicing the Visitor Economy by offering volunteer life saving services and strengthening visitor appeal to the region. | $307,835 |
| Prosper Coffs Harbour Limited | Bushfire Education Workshops | The Bushfire Education Workshops will aim to educate and support the mental health of Primary School aged students affected by the 2019-20 bushfires in the Coffs Harbour local government area. Students will learn about bushfire management, cultural bushfires practices, the ecology of bushfires and wildlife preservation through an interactive presentation. Followed by a creative workshop constructing nesting boxes for native wildlife affected by the bushfires. | $22,086 |
| Raise The Heart Ltd | Raise the HeART – A Wellbeing Arts Recovery Project for Young People | The ‘Raise the HeART’ wellbeing arts recovery project for young people combines theatre, art and wellbeing activities designed to help young people to communicate their post-bushfire trauma and begin to build a positive post-fire vision for their community.
Developed with a number of partners including 2 high schools, local councils and mental health service providers, Headspace (National), and the Regional Adversity Mental Health Program (Statewide), the project will create 3 different youth-created pieces of theatre in 3 regions of NSW. The project includes post-show Youth Wellbeing Forums and creative wellbeing workshops designed to build resilience, improve mental health and develop community connection. |
$265,000 |
| Ritchie Village Property Pty Ltd | Critical fire servicing infrastructure for Dunbogan | This project provides the RFS, Fire & Rescue NSW and hazard reduction agencies with critical infrastructure needed to manage and prevent the spread of fire in Dunbogan, to protect lives and the built environment from a bushfire. The project involves the upgrade of 1.5km of water main and associated infrastructure between the Dunbogan bridge and its termination point at 152 Diamond Head Road, Dunbogan to support the installation of a new AS compliant fire hydrant system and associated infrastructure to protect a vulnerable community living on the edge of the Dunbogan Village adjacent to Crowdy Bay National Park. The infrastructure is strategically placed on an isthmus on the peninsula to prevent the spread of fire to greater Dunbogan. | $975,364 |
| Royal Far West | Bushfire Recovery: Children’s Wellbeing after disaster | Royal Far West (RFW) will extend an evidenced-based psycho-social support program for children, & key adults around the child, across 3 bushfire impacted LGAs we are not currently funded to assist.
Addressing the mental health impacts of the bushfires, and promoting resilience, the program helps children with pre-existing vulnerabilities that may otherwise place them at particular risk of long-term adverse outcomes. By providing group programs for children, support for educators & parents, plus multi-disciplinary assessment & therapy for individual children identified as needing clinical support, the program simultaneously supports children & upskills educators & parents to better respond to, & prepare for, future disasters. |
$2,147,968 |
| Rural Health Connect Pty Ltd | Online psychology and financial counselling in bushfire affected regions | A new partnership between online psychology platform Rural Health Connect and Rural Financial Counselling Services will deliver psychology and financial counselling sessions across bushfire affected regions. This support is one-on-one and provided over our online platform free of charge. It comes in response to the fact that emotional and financial distress often go hand in hand and addressing both aspects of life together can aid in recovery. Bringing both services together at one online location simplifies the process for clients and allows for easier referring and cross referring. We work closely with councils across the affected regions, to identify key areas of need and how to best deliver our services to the people who need them. | $389,250 |
| Scotts Head Bowling & Recreation Club Ltd | Community Emergency Preparedness in the Isolated Town of Scotts Head | In consultation with the Scotts Head Community Resilience Team, Club Scotts has identified key built environment improvements integral in facilitating disaster preparedness activities and promoting the location of Club Scotts as the town’s Neighbour Safe Space. Key objectives are to raise awareness of the town’s emergency response procedures and upgrade the facilities to improve communication, access, hygiene and ventilation to cope for a large number of people in emergency situations. | $972,375 |
| The Alternative Technology Association Inc | Green Rebuild Toolkit | This project will empower and support fire-ravaged communities to rebuild their homes in a climate-resilient way. The Green Rebuild Toolkit includes a range of tools, resources and online events tailored for communities rebuilding after the 2019/2020 Australian bushfires. In partnership with our local member Branches, and building on our 40 years of practice in home sustainability, the Toolkit is a wealth of expert resources, virtual and physical events, and one-on-one advice sessions to support communities to build back sustainably and resiliently. Households will be better informed, communities will be empowered, and rebuilt properties will be sustainable and resilient. |
$161,399 |
| The Australian Childrens Music Foundation Limited | Music for Hope | The Music for Hope project will deliver (free) weekly music lessons/workshops and community concerts over a two-year period to benefit disadvantaged and Indigenous primary school children impacted by the Black Summer bushfires on the Mid-North Coast region (NSW). Experienced musician/teachers, highly skilled at working with children, will work with seven schools to address long-term emotional trauma experienced by children (5-12 years). Children will play instruments, learn rhythm and note-reading and participate in song-writing workshops, musical ensembles and community concerts. Outcomes for children include improved emotional and mental health and resilience, social opportunities and better educational outcomes. | $285,653 |
| The Corporate Trustees of the Diocese Of Grafton | Bowraville Anglican Community Wellbeing Hub Project | The Anglican hall was an important resource during the 2019 bushfires. The project aims to improve the hall facilities by adding air conditioning, improving fire safety by installing new fire doors and smoke alarms and expanding functional space by adding a deck. Solar panels will improve operational sustainability. We aim to improve the ability to provide a safe multi-purpose space for community connection. The improvements will enhance the ability to carry out ongoing programs that are aimed at improving community wellbeing and the resilience of bushfire impacted families. | $126,096 |
| Wittitrin Progress Association | Staying connected and resilient | The Staying connected and resilient project aims to implement a communications network to assist in times of emergency, keeping the community connected through up to date communications and assessing welfare needs of members. Supporting the repeater is a mobile reception booster to improve accessibility of mobile network when power is lost in homes or telephone lines go down. Improving RFS resource needs and capability to support the community when another bushfire like 2019 hits, working with the WPA the RFS crew of Wittitrin will be able to coordinate, set up evacuation centre, provide power sources and important communications to all members of our valley when needed. |
$74,020 |
