ABC News, 17 March 2022:
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| NSW Liberal MLC Catherine Cusack says she is 'outraged' by Scott Morrison's announcement only some LGAs will be eligible for disaster payments.(ABC News) |
A Liberal upper house MP is resigning and a Northern Rivers mayor has gone to the Governor-General over concerns about perceived favouritism in the allocation of federal flood assistance.
The neighbouring flood-affected LGAs of Ballina, Byron and Tweed – all in the Labor-held seat of Richmond – have not received the extra $2,000 per person support.
Ballina Mayor Sharon Cadwallader said she supported the need for targeted funding, but the delay in emergency funding to hundreds of people in her region was not good enough.
"Why can't our people be supported now when they need it?" she said.
Ms Cadwallader met Governor-General David Hurley last week when he visited the flood-ravaged Northern Rivers region, including parts of the Ballina shire.
She decided to phone Governor-General Hurley again on Wednesday after "getting the run around" between ministers and government officials over the past week over the funding.
"He said: 'Haven't you got it yet?' And I said: 'No, we haven't your Excellency.'
"I've been doing lots of lobbying and getting nowhere."
In a statement, a spokesman from the Governor-General's office said General Hurley "is not involved in and does not intervene in operational or policy decisions" but noted he was "struck by the scale of the devastation and inspired by the grit, determination and generosity of the response".
Liberal MLC intends to quit
This issue of additional emergency disaster funding has been the catalyst for North Coast-based Liberal MLC Catherine Cusack to announce she will leave Parliament.
"The idea that being a flood victim in a National Party-held seat makes you more worthy than a flood victim who is in the Richmond electorate ... is probably the most unethical approach I have ever seen," she said.
Ms Cusack has been a vocal critic of her party before, crossing the floor on koala policy.
She said she has informed the Premier and Liberal Party state director of her decision and understood there would be a preselection process to follow.
"I can't defend it and I'm outraged by it."…..
"The whole Northern Rivers should have been given funding according to their need, not according to their LGA, it's unprecedented."
Ms Cusack was elected to the upper house in 2019, with her term due to end in 2027…...
The Guardian, 17 March 2022:
Cusack, an outspoken upper house MP who represents the north coast, said she had informed the party’s state director of her intention to resign as soon as the party was able to hold a preselection for her position.
“I am so tired of it,” she said. “I don’t want to spend all day attacking and sounding bitter. I am not bitter – I just don’t fit into the new Liberal party culture and it drained all my energy trying.
“It’s an enormous relief to step away from it.”
While initial reports suggested Cusack would immediately quit, she told Guardian Australia she would wait until local branch members were able to vote for her replacement, both out of respect for her colleagues and to ensure “a constitutional preselection”.
“You may have noticed the Liberal Party finding it difficult to have aconstitutional preselection even for federal seats,” she said.
The NSW Nationals MP for Tweed, Geoff Provest, told local ABC radio he had lost faith in Morrison, saying he was “disgusted with the prime minister”.
“I just think the federal government has really messed this up … I can put it no other way, they’ve lost the faith of the people,” he said.
“Whether in the caravan parks or one of the little villages, there’s a real venom out there directed at the prime minister that he doesn’t understand what’s occurring on the ground. This is like a remake of the bushfires some two years ago.”
He said the decision to exclude residents in his seat and neighbouring Ballina was “deplorable”.
“You just have to drive around the area to talk to the people to see they’ve lost everything,” he said.
“The federal government is disconnected with the good people of Australia and we’re paying the price for it here … I think they should hang their heads in shame.”…..
NOTE: My yellow highlighting throughout.
In which Scott Morrison backpedals furiously in the face of Northern NSW anger – finally realising that it can be politically dangerous to test the patience of this region
Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet, Senator Bridget McKenzie, Ministerial Media Release
Release Date
17 March 2022
More support is now available for families, farms and businesses affected by the catastrophic flooding disaster in northern NSW as part of an additional package of support from the Commonwealth Government.
The National Recovery and Resilience Agency (NRRA) and Emergency Management Australia have further assessed the flood extent area, the proportion of the populations affected, the latest residential impact assessments and the proportion of population seeking assistance for Disaster Recovery Payments to declare the Ballina, Byron, Kyogle and Tweed Local Government Areas (LGAs) impacted areas in need of additional support.
This next phase of support includes:
An additional two weekly disaster payments - known as Australian Government Disaster Recovery Payment (AGDRP) Special Supplement - for affected residents in Ballina, Byron, Kyogle and Tweed will be automatically paid to those who have already claimed and received the Australian Government Disaster Recovery Payment, at the current rate of $1,000 per adult and $400 per child. These payments will be made from 22 March.
Minister for Emergency Management and National Recovery and Resilience Senator the Hon Bridget McKenzie said the NRRA has undertaken assessments of the affected areas and as a result the government had agreed to extend the AGDRP in the Northern Rivers Region.
“As the full scale and impact to these areas in northern NSW is being realised, the Liberal and Nationals Government is implementing this extra support as quickly as possible,” Minister McKenzie said…..
Full media release here.
Funding announcement delayed to meet election campaigning needs of Prime Minister 'Scotty The Announcer' Morrison and time required to compare proposed grants with Minister for Emergency Management Bridget McKenzie's Coalition electorates white board?
News.com.au, 16 March 2022:
Flood-ravaged families in NSW will be offered $10,000 “back home” grants to rebuild their homes as thousands face months living in tents and caravans.
But a bitter war of words has broken out between the NSW Government and the Morrison Government over the announcement, with state MPs accusing the Prime Minister of holding up the cash relief as he campaigns in Western Australia.
The $1 billion plan is being finalised in a 50:50 split with the Morrison Government ahead of the May budget…..
The $1 billion “back home” program was signed off on by the NSW government in the last 24 hours at an extraordinary meeting of the expenditure review committee.
According to federal sources, it was sent to the Morrison Government on Wednesday morning.
Late last night, the Prime Minister’s office confirmed the $10,000 grants were under “urgent” consideration.
“The NSW Government’s proposal documentation was received this morning by the National Recovery and Resilience Agency and is under urgent consideration by the Commonwealth Government to ensure it meets both governments’ objectives to deliver immediate and longer term relief and support,” a spokesperson said.
“The Commonwealth Government hopes to finalise the details of the additional support very shortly.”
The Australien Government has made an ad about this summer’s floods, and it’s surprisingly honest and informative 🇦🇺👽🌊https://t.co/Say9Kd0Haz
— theJuiceMedia (@thejuicemedia) March 17, 2022
