State government moves on flood recovery

By Bianca Hall

Oct 18, 2022

The state and Federal governments are still finalising what funding will be available for people and communities affected by floods under the Disaster Recovery Funding Arrangements.

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The Personal Hardship Assistance Program’s Emergency Re-establishment Assistance fund is available for those whose properties are hardest hit, providing up to $42,250 for uninsured properties, helping to pay for clean-up, repairs, rebuilding and replacing household contents.

The Victorian Government has allocated $351 million to be spent on families, roads and flood clean-up efforts.

This includes $165 million in emergency repairs for fixing potholes, asphalting and repairing road surfaces damaged by the recent weather.

It will also cover larger scale works like the rebuilding of roads, bridges and culverts — particularly in the Western, Hume and Loddon Mallee regions which have been most heavily damaged.

Since the beginning of the flood emergency, 509 roads have been closed, with 150 of those since re-opened.

Crews have already begun works, having fixed 10,000 potholes and attended more than 20 landslips right across Victoria.

Significant progress on repairs have been made on the Hume Fwy, the Western Hwy, the Goulburn Valley Fwy and the Murray Valley Hwy.

With more rain forecast in the coming days, making key roads safe for emergency services and freight so vital supplies can reach affected communities quickly is a government priority.

Up to $15 million can be spent on housing, health and wellbeing and financial and legal counselling.

There will also be help accessing grants, doing paperwork and advice for business owners affected by the floods.

Community recovery officers will be placed in communities to help understand recovery so any support given is appropriate to the communities’ needs.

Money will also be allocated to Emergency Management Victoria, the State Control Centre and Emergency Response Victoria, who all help co-ordinate emergency responses and recoveries.

Victorian Emergency Services Minister Jaclyn Symes said local communities and emergency services had done an incredible job managing the immediate threat of floods.

“I expect that people will step up. A lot of people will help one another,” she said.

“We’re working hand in hand with the Commonwealth to give them the support they need to recover.”

The Emergency Management Commissioner requested 60 ADF personnel to help in the flood response to be spread across the state on Saturday.

The 60 personnel are intended to help with logistical expertise and clean-up response.

By Bianca Hall