Daily London
The payments will include $25,000 grants for small businesses, $1 million for regional councils and $4 million for mental health recovery programs.
There will also be another $11.32 million in funding for primary producers in the region.
It brings the total package of government funding in the wake of Koji to $66 million.
”Australia is experiencing more extreme weather events, and they’re occurring more often, and with greater intensity,” Albanese said.
“It is something that we’re having to deal with, but Australians are showing how resilient they are.
“One of the things that we find at times like this, it is local government that is best positioned to really provide that immediate assistance.”
The PM said he was in ongoing talks with Queensland Premier David Crisafulli and assured flood-hit residents there was ”no politics” at play.
More funding could be imminent as local communities assess the damage, Minister for Emergency Management Kristy McBain said.
“I do want to make really clear there’s a range of things we still don’t know from this flood event,” McBain said.
“We’ll continue to work with the local council, with our embedded national emergency management agency officials here, and if there’s additional supports required.”
Hardship payments for flood-affected communities were announced after Koji made landfall over the weekend.
Support grants of $180 per person, or up to $900 for families of five or more, can be claimed to cover emergency food, clothing and medicine for residents in Clermont, McKinlay Shire, and parts of the Mackay region.
Three income-tested grants are also available to eligible uninsured residents in Clermont, McKinlay, Flinders, Richmond and Winton.
At least 31 local Queensland councils are receiving funding from the federal and state governments.
Another weather system is forming off the coast, which has a “high” chance of becoming a severe tropical cyclone early next week, according to the Bureau of Meteorology (BoM).
