Government helps with flood recovery
Tue 3 May 2011
A one-off grant of more than $12 million has been allocated in today’s Victorian Budget to help emergency services organisations cover the costs of extraordinary flood recovery activities earlier this year.
More than $12 million will be provided to the Victorian State Emergency Service (VICSES) and seven other key organisations and agencies that made significant resources available to help communities deal with the unprecedented and sustained flood events.
Some of the worst floods in Victoria’s history struck hundreds of communities repeatedly from December through to February and ruined homes, properties and livestock.
Deputy Premier and Minister for Police and Emergency Services Peter Ryan said “it is staggering to recall that a third of the state was under water, 1730 properties and 62 towns were directly affected, and more than 6000 calls for assistance were made to VICSES during the January floods alone.”
Mr Ryan said $7 million of the funding would go to the VICSES which had worked around the clock on many occasions since the floods in September 2010.
Following the calamitous September floods, VICSES was called on time and again as further floods wreaked havoc on Victorian communities.
“We are all indebted to the great work VICSES volunteers provide our state all year, but particularly during those trying times, which is why we’ve provided it with $700,000 for the December floods and $6.3 million for the January/February floods,” Mr Ryan said
The remaining $5.6 million has been distributed to a number of other emergency services organisations and government departments that supported VICSES in all its efforts during the floods.
Other organisations and government departments receiving Budget funding are:
- $140,000 to pay for interstate SES
- $1.56 million for the Country Fire Authority
- $98,000 for the Emergency Services Telecommunications Authority
- $405,000 for the Department of Sustainability and Environment
- $3 million for the State Aircraft Unit
- $350,000 for the Metropolitan Fire Brigade
- $30,000 for Office of the Emergency Services Commissioner aircraft costs.
Mr Ryan said the Victorian Government is pleased to provide the additional money to emergency services organisations and support them in the ongoing work being done in the community.
“This funding will help pay for a range of things including overtime incurred by all services, printing of flood-safe toolkits to help communities prepare for floods, specialists who helped analyse the floods and vehicle repairs,” Mr Ryan said.
“It will also help ensure that agencies can continue to support each other and have confidence that the financial cost involved in providing that support is available.”
This grant is in addition to the $56 million that was announced as part of the state’s flood recovery package last October.
