Flood assistance available

Narrabri shire residents can now claim disaster assistance following the recent and continuing floods.

The state government has announced that Narrabri Shire is one of 27 local government areas entitled to apply for disaster assistance, including residents, small businesses, primary producers, non-profit organisations, freight, and the council.

Narrabri Shire mayor Ron Campbell encouraged anyone who was affected by the floods to apply for the assistance.

“Since the flooding, council has been repairing what we can and documenting the damage to roads, bridges and infrastructure that occurred during the flooding, ready to apply for assistance,” said Cr Campbell.

“Over the last few weeks, we have also been working closely with Resilience NSW and Minister for Emergency Services and Resilience, Minister for Flood Recovery, Steph Cook, to ensure the needs in the Narrabri Shire were understood.

“We were pleased to hear the government’s announcement which means we can now submit those claims and so can local residents and businesses,” he said.

Assistance is being provided through the jointly funded Commonwealth-State Disaster Recovery Funding Arrangements (DRFA).

Assistance available under the DRFA may include:

• Help for eligible people whose homes or belongings have been damaged (eligibility criteria apply).

• Support for councils to help with the costs of cleaning up and restoring damaged essential public assets.

• Concessional loans for small businesses, primary producers, and non-profit organisations; and

• Freight subsidies for primary producers.

“I encourage anyone who has been impacted to contact the government for assistance,” said Cr Campbell.