Local governments across Far North Queensland have lead the way in the push for changes to Australia’s natural disaster funding arrangements and must now be granted an audience with the Productivity Commission to put their case forward. 

Senator for Queensland Jan McLucas said that together with the Far North Queensland Regional Organisation of Councils, local councils across the region put forward a very strong case for amendments to Natural Disaster Relief and Recovery Arrangements that would ensure value-for-money in all NDRRA-funded restoration projects.  

“In its interim report into natural disaster funding, the Productivity Commission notes the benefits of local councils using their own workforce, or ‘day labour’, to restore public assets after a disaster event, in what forms part of a value-for-money proposal already test-driven in Queensland.   

“It is pleasing that the Productivity Commission is considering how these changes can strengthen the NDRRA program and lead to better outcomes for Federal, state and local governments.  

“I have written to the PC Commissioners to ask them to come to the Cairns region so that local councils can make the strongest case possible for the value-for-money model to be adopted,” Senator McLucas said.

The Productivity Commission’s interim report also recommends cutting federal subsidies from 75 per cent to 50 per cent of state disaster-recovery spending and spending more on mitigation.  

Senator McLucas said while she is fully supportive of the need to mitigate against natural disasters, any cuts in funding to support the restoration of public assets would be disastrous for councils in cyclone prone regions.

“This program is absolutely vital to local governments impacted by natural disaster events and only last month Shadow Attorney-General Mark Dreyfus and I met with local councils across the far north to discuss this very issue.

“Small councils managing huge shires that have many roads but small numbers of rate payers will be sent to the wall if they cannot claim the full costs for repair of those assets if they’re damaged in a natural disaster event,” said Senator McLucas. 

Senator McLucas said that in the case of Queensland, NDRRA arrangements had been well managed since the Queensland Reconstruction Authority was established in 2011 to deal with the massive scale of flooding events in central and south-east Queensland, and Tropical Cyclone Yasi. 

“Local councils in this region worked closely with the QRA to develop the Local Government Value-For-Money Model which was designed to ensure value-for-money principals were inherent in any reconstruction works. 

“The QRA recognised that allowing local government to undertake restorative work themselves, rather than having to hire in external contractors, would significantly reduce costs and estimated a cost reduction of up to 45%.  

“In a move that simply doesn’t make sense, the Newman Government has failed to adopt this model, meaning that the cost to local governments from events like Cyclone Ita is higher and therefore NDRRA claim levels are higher.