DEAL DUMPED DISASTER FUNDING BACKFLIP A WIN FOR BURDEKIN

Burdekin Shire Council Mayor Pierina Dalle Cort called the decision a “win” for the Burdekin. Photo: Jacob Casha

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Months of calls to ‘dump the deal’ have convinced the Federal Government to bin a proposal that threatened to leave North Queensland communities facing millions of dollars in additional disaster recovery costs. Burdekin Shire Council Mayor Pierina Dalle Cort called the decision a “win” for the Burdekin.

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SIGH OF RELIEF FOR BURDEKIN AFTER DISASTER FUNDING REVERSAL

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The Federal Government has backflipped on a proposal to slash its share of disaster recovery funding after unified pushback from regional North Queensland communities, including the Burdekin.

The Commonwealth last Friday confirmed it would retain its contribution of up to 75 per cent of eligible disaster recovery costs, abandoning a proposed 50-50 State-Commonwealth funding split that could have left the Burdekin shouldering millions in additional disaster recovery costs.

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“[This decision] is the direct result of strong advocacy from councils and Queensland federal Labor colleagues,” Federal Treasurer Jim Chalmers said.

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“When disaster strikes, we will be there with the funding to help people get back on their feet, and that’s what these changes are all about.”

Burdekin Shire Council Mayor Pierina Dalle Cort called the decision a “win” for the Burdekin.

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“I don’t know why [the Government] even considered the proposal or where it came from,” she said.

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“We [regional councils] had to get the message loud and clear —we suffer more than other places … It’s a great outcome.”

Council CEO Matthew Magin said the proposed 50-50 split would have placed a substantial burden on the Burdekin and its ratepayers.

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Under the proposed reforms, the Burdekin’s $22 million disaster recovery claim from January-February 2025 would have received $11 million in federal funding, down from $16.5 million. Mr Magin said covering half the remaining $11 million locally would have meant a 17.46 per cent rate rise.

“Our ratepayers would have copped a real blow—or we wouldn’t have been able to fund the recovery work, which would make the Burdekin community look like a disaster in itself,” Ms Dalle Cort said.

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Ms Dalle Cort was among the panellists at the Local Government Association of Queensland’s (LGAQ) Coastal Leaders Forum in the Whitsundays in July, where councils discussed the DRFA changes proposed by the Federal Government a month earlier.

The forum was part of a broader, months-long LGAQ campaign, which included a protest by six Queensland mayors in Melbourne, a unanimous Townsville City Council motion calling on the Prime Minister to reconsider the changes, and a statewide campaign backed by all 77 Queensland mayors.

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Minister for Emergency Management, Kristy McBain, argued the proposed reforms were designed to shift disaster management towards risk reduction and faster response, describing the model as “simpler and fairer for all Australians.”

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Following consultation with councils around Australia, as well as recommendations from the Independent Review of Commonwealth Disaster Funding, the Government ultimately scrapped the proposal.

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The decision means councils also retain their ability to claim costs for counter disaster operations, with funding activation thresholds to be revised.