Accelerated disaster payments for Narrabri Shire

Narrabri Shire Council is among 14 more local government areas that will receive payments more quickly following natural disasters after joining a program being rolled out by the NSW government.

Walgett, Coonamble, Warren and Brewarrina Shires are also among the new areas joining the program.

A total of 33 regional councils have now signed on to Tripartite Agreements with Transport for NSW and the NSW Reconstruction Authority, providing accelerated funding for roads and transport infrastructure repairs needed when hit by natural disasters.

These agreements mean councils will no longer have to spend their own money to carry out repairs and then claim the costs back through the Australian and NSW governments’ Disaster Recovery Funding Arrangements – which can cause council finances to be strained.

After signing up to the Tripartite Agreements they can access advance funding at the start of each stage of reconstruction work.

Councils that sign on to these agreements will benefit from cash in the bank sooner after a disaster declaration has been made, so their communities will be back on repaired roads and other transport infrastructure faster than before.

Minister for Planning and Public Spaces Paul Scully said people have all seen the damage natural disasters can bring and also know they are a destructive fact of life.

“We need to be prepared before these events and have systems in place to get communities functioning again as quickly as possible when the danger has passed,” he said.

“That is where these Tripartite Agreements can play such an important role in getting disaster recovery payments to councils quickly and efficiently.”

Upper House member Stephen Lawrence MLC said communities will welcome the benefit to Narrabri, Walgett, Coonamble, Warren and Brewarrina Shire Councils from this initiative, which has seen a multi-agency approach to a statewide issue.

“Having funds on hand to get essential repairs started provides them with better options to recover and rebuild following disasters,” he said.