The Rockhampton region is set to enhance its resilience against natural disasters in the future with the help of the Australian Government’s Disaster Ready Fund.
Rockhampton Regional Council received over $917,000 under round one of the Fund for three key resilience projects in the region.
Federal Minister for Emergency Management Murray Watt said the program would support a range of projects in Central Queensland.
“We know that preparing for natural disasters delivers much better results than having to recover from them, which is why the Albanese Government is investing in projects that will keep communities safer while also putting downward pressure on insurance premiums,” Minister Watt said.
“It’s great to partner with Rockhampton Regional Council to deliver over $1.8 million in local disaster mitigation projects.
“Rocky will also benefit from a share of the $40 million Household Resilience Program, which gives grants to low-income and working families for home upgrades that make properties more disaster-proof, and I’d encourage residents to apply.”
Rockhampton MP Barry O’Rourke said the federal and state governments are working together to help build resilience for Queenslanders through the Household Resilience Program.
“We recently announced new funding for that critical Household Resilience Program, which means even more low-incomes homes in Rockhampton can be safer and more secure,” Mr O’Rourke said.
“Queensland is affected by more natural disasters than anywhere else in Australia, so by making homes more resilient we can help reduce the impacts of future disasters while bringing down insurance costs in the meantime.”
Chair of the LDMG and Rockhampton Region Mayor Tony Williams said the Australian Government and Rockhampton Regional Council contributions will assist in improving prevention and preparation of natural disasters in our region.
“As we know, our region is no stranger to a natural disaster, and this funding will implement long-term mitigation actions to protect our community,” Mayor Williams said.
“Council received the funding for three projects, including a business case for the Fitzroy River Barrage Raising Project, an Advanced Communications Module on the Disaster Dashboard, and an emergency generator for the Evacuation Centre.
“All three projects will contribute to safeguarding our community, their families, homes, and businesses.
“I am a strong believer that prior preparation is the key to a better outcome, and through this funding, we can better equip Council and our community. I am looking forward to seeing these projects undertaken.”
Project Descriptions:
Fitzroy River Barrage Raising Project Business Case Development
The Fitzroy River Barrage Raising Project Business Case Development will engage an expert consultant to conduct the necessary technical studies and produce a business case for raising the Fitzroy River Barrage gate height to protect against projected sea level rise.
Sea level rise projections for our region indicate that the sea level may rise above the top of the Barrage gates which would impact the quality of the raw water.
This project will increase the resilience, adaptive capacity, and preparedness of Council to minimise the potential impact of climate change on our water supply.
Advanced Communications Module
The advanced communications module for Rockhampton Region’s Emergency Dashboard will allow Council to implement a function that lets the community subscribe to opt-in notification services from the Emergency Dashboard, including emergency news, risk notifications and publicly available weather notifications.
By delivering and having additional emergency messaging capability, the Rockhampton community can have increased confidence that the information received is consistent, accurate and timely, encouraging positive relationships between our community and emergency service personnel.
Accurate warnings and information will ultimately provide more time to prepare, promoting resilience to withstand future disaster impacts and reducing the need for recovery operations.
Evacuation Centre Emergency Generator
The Evacuation Centre Emergency Generator will ensure emergency power is available when the evacuation centre at the Rockhampton Showgrounds is in use during disaster events.
The evacuation centre plays a significant role in the resilience and protection of our community and the wider Central Queensland area. The permanent generator will maximise the effectiveness of the Evacuation Centre.
Funding
The Disaster Ready Fund builds upon the Albanese Government’s commitment to ensure Australia is better prepared for natural disasters.
The funding involves cross-collaboration between Federal, State and Council departments including, the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) and the Queensland Reconstruction Authority (QRA).
