All five bushfire-affected councils in the electorate of Cowper will receive further funding from a $17 million package from the National Bushfire Recovery Agency.
Federal Member for Cowper Pat Conaghan said funding for councils would range from $225,000 to $416,667 depending on the impact and devastation caused by the blazes.
“Local councils have received major damage to infrastructure, assets and public facilities since the unprecedented bushfires tore through our region,” he said.
“A total of 17 facilities were damaged or destroyed in the bushfires: six in the Port Macquarie-Hastings Council area, seven in the Kempsey area and four in Nambucca Valley when fires destroying more than 130,000 hectares of land tore through.
“Mayors and councillors are extremely close to their communities and have in-depth knowledge of how the bushfires have impacted their areas and communities.
“This is why the National Bushfire Recovery Agency has made this independent decision to direct money toward their recovery.”
The assistance allocated by the National Bushfire Recovery Agency in this latest $17 million package includes:
- $416,667 for Port Macquarie-Hastings Council
- $416,667 for Kempsey Shire Council
- $416,667 for Nambucca Valley Council
- $225,000 for Bellingen Shire Council
- And $300,000 for Coffs Harbour City Council. A total of $1,775,001 for the Cowper region.
This funding was determined by the National Bushfire Recovery Agency through analysing a range of factors including population, disaster recovery payments already received, the area burnt and socio-economic factors of the council area. It follows $1 million being allocated to all of these councils in early January.
