People who had homes or belongings damaged in severe storms in the Orana region in December may be eligible for newly-announced disaster assistance.
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It is now available to eligible residents from the shires of Warren, Brewarrina, Gwydir and Moree to help fund recovery efforts, Parkes MP Mark Coulton said.
Properties at Nevertire, in the Warren shire, lost roofs and sustained other structural damage during a storm locals dubbed a "mini-cyclone" on December 5.
After years of drought, last year's rainfall was a welcome relief to many throughout the electorate, Mr Coulton said.
"However, the severe weather that occurred in December brought on a whole new set of challenges and left many people with extensive repair bills," he said.
"Severe thunderstorms in Brewarrina and Warren in early December caused significant disruption and damage, while heavy rainfall resulted in flooding in the Gwydir and Moree Plains shires."
The assistance is being provided through the jointly funded Commonwealth-State Disaster Recovery Funding Arrangements (DRFA).
Mr Coulton said a range of practical assistance was available as the communities went on with clean-up efforts and repairs.
The federal government would continue to work with the NSW government and local communities to ensure the communities all had the support they needed during the difficult time, he said.
Assistance available under the DRFA may include:
- Help for eligible people whose homes or belongings have been damaged
- Support for affected local councils to help with the costs of cleaning up and restoring damaged essential public assets
- Concessional interest rate loans for small businesses, primary producers and non-profit organisations
- Freight subsidies for primary producers, and
- Grants to eligible non-profit organisations
For information on personal hardship and distress assistance, contact Service NSW on 13 77 88. To apply for a concessional loan or grant, contact the NSW Rural Assistance Authority on 1800 678 593 or visit www.raa.nsw.gov.au
Further information on disaster assistance is available on the Australian Government's Disaster Assist website at www.disasterassist.gov.au and the NSW emergency information and response website at www.emergency.nsw.gov.au