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$19 million boost to disaster recovery for EP councils

Published on Feb 20, 2022

Three council areas on the Eyre Peninsula will receive a further $19 million in disaster recovery funding from the Marshall Liberal Government to help repair and reconstruct infrastructure damaged during recent severe weather.

The District Council of Kimba, District Council of Franklin Harbour and District Council of Cleve will each share in the extra funding after requesting further extraordinary assistance particularly towards the repair of roads in the region which were extensively damaged.

The State Government will also be increasing the level of assistance provided to individual repair costs from the original 75 per cent of the total cost under the guidelines to 90 per cent.

Minister for Primary Industries and Regional Development David Basham said the increased funding follows disaster recovery assistance being made available to 14 Local Government Areas in northern, central and western parts of the state through the jointly-funded Commonwealth-State Disaster Recovery Funding Arrangements.

“Recent severe weather has seen widespread damage across parts of South Australia causing significant disruptions to key transport routes and local communities,” Minister Basham said.

“I visited the Eyre Peninsula to see firsthand the extent of the damage and this extra support will enable these local councils to immediately undertake critical repair works.

“In some cases, there has been water over roads two weeks after the event, roads that are impassable or that have been washed away completely.

“The Marshall Liberal Government will continue to stand side-by-side with South Australians impacted by the severe weather and this extra financial assistance is another helping hand towards recovery.

“We will continue to work with the Federal Government, local councils and regional communities to deliver the assistance that’s needed.

Member for Flinders Peter Treloar said the extra funding would be welcomed by the local councils.

“The extent of the damage to the local road network and amount of repairs and reconstruction required would be a significant financial burden for these smaller regional councils,” Mr Treloar said.

“With seeding activities due to start on the Eyre Peninsula in the coming months it’s critical for local farming communities to have road access restored.

“This extra funding will be a significant help and will allow important recovery work to start as soon as possible.”

$19 million boost to disaster recovery for EP councils