UPDATE 2 March 2023:
Deadlines for the Disaster Assistance Recovery Grants have been extended.
“I welcome the extension. Our farmers work hard and are a key part of our local economy. That’s why I went to the Government and sought this extension of time.
Importantly, the office of the QLD Minister for Agriculture informed me that their Federal counterparts (who co-fund these grants, and approve extensions) have said this will be the last time the deadline is extended. I urge farmers who need recovery work done to keep this in mind as 2 June 2023 approaches.
It is tough to get contractors on the ground at the moment, and this extension will give a short window of opportunity for farmers to get recovery work done and submit a recovery grant application,” Mr Krause said.
27 February 2023:
Applications for Disaster Assistance Recovery Grants for those affected by floods last year will close soon but State Member for Scenic Rin, Jon Krause, is fighting to have the deadlines extended.
Mr Krause fought for funding to be activated after widespread flooding affected Scenic Rim in early 2022.
“I asked the Minister for Agriculture to activate this support the Monday after the floods in May 2022.”
“Labor forgot about Scenic Rim farmers after the floods we had in May last year – but I didn’t. For nearly five months I worked to have grants up to $75k activated and in October 2022 the Government did it.”
The original deadline for farmers affected by the May flood event closed before the applications for February’s flood. Given the delay in activating the funding Mr Krause fought to have both deadlines extended past their original early 2023 dates and after his lobbying the dates were moved to March this year.
Mr Krause questioned how the State Labor Government can advise that there are not enough contractors to complete projects around Queensland yet expect farmers to use the same contractors to fix property damage.
“If Labor can acknowledge a lack of contractors themselves, surely, they can see that the contractor shortage extends further than their own projects.”
“Primary producers are attempting to rectify flood damage that occurred almost a year ago. It is frustrating for them that consistent rainfall and considerable contractor unavailability is causing significant issues in these endeavours.”
“I have asked the Minister for Agriculture to recognise the issues caused by the high demand for relevant businesses to carry out repair work and extend these deadline for application for assistance by at least and additional three months in respect of both flood events.”
“While there have been delays, I hope that the Minister for Agriculture sees sense and extends the deadlines so that landholders who have applied, or are in the process of applying, will be able to access support after what was a very tough few months of weather last year,” Mr Krause said.
The current deadlines are listed below:
Event: South East Queensland Rainfall & Flooding 22 Feb-5 April 2022
Updated deadline for applications: 10 March 2023
Event: Southern Queensland Flooding 6-20 May 2022
Updated deadline for applications: 3 March 2023