Councils seeking reimbursement, more than a year after floods

BY JACINTA LEE

Hunter Councils are calling on the Baird Government to repay a multi-million-dollar gap in the budget caused by last year's April superstorm.

Mayor of Port Stephens, Bruce MacKenzie, says Council is owed up to $6 million for repairs carried out during the flood events.

He says his team has put in a $3.6 million claim to NSW Public Works, but their calls are not being returned.

"As far as I'm concerned, we were promised that a long time ago and there's nothing coming," he states.

Meanwhile, Lake Macquarie Council's claim for $3.5 million has reportedly gone unanswered since it was put forward in January.

"There's been a large damage bill," Lake Macquarie Mayor Jodie Harrison says. "Some of it has been covered by insurance and some of it, the state government said that they would pay."

Disaster Relief Funding now Available for the Hunter

The Federal Government has agreed to provide disaster relief funding to affected regions of the Hunter.

Dungog bore the brunt of the storm

Local Government areas including Maitland, Port Stephens and Dungog have all been listed as natural disaster zones.

NSW Deputy Premier Troy Grant made the announcement this morning, while also promising concessional interest rate loans for small businesses, primary producers and not-for-profit organisations.

Parliamentary Secretary for the Hunter, Scot MacDonald has confirmed that “disaster funding starts to commence straight away.”

“LGA’s will get assistance with clean-up restoring some of that damage to public assets.”

MacDonald emphasised that some areas are in particular need of assistance since they “have been hit twice in one month.”

Image courtesy of Graham Chevalley, RFS via ABC News (LINK).