Flood help: NSW government announces $112 million

The NSW government is providing up to $20,000 for residents with homes damaged or destroyed by the recent floods. The funds will only be available to owners or renters who are not insured or unable to claim natural disaster relief.

The Premier Dominic Perrottet is announcing the $112 million Back Home grants in Lismore today. The grants will be available to flood victims in the Hawkesbury, Ballina, Byron, Clarence Valley, Kyogle, Lismore, Richmond Valley and Tweed local government areas.

The funds can be used to pay for clean-up costs to restore housing to a habitable condition, including the replacement or repair of electrical, gas, water and hot water systems as well as damaged whitegoods.

The money can also be used to replace IT equipment and other household contents. Renters can use the funds to help cover the cost of moving to a new property.

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According to the Sydney Morning Herald, the federal government refused to go halves in the cost of the grants.

In March, the NSW government announced an inquiry into the recent flood disaster. The investigation will include the causes of the floods and the state’s preparedness. The inquiry will also examine the state’s response and recovery effort.

“We have always said we will take whatever action we can to improve our management of natural disasters and this inquiry is an important step in that process,” said acting NSW Premier Paul Toole.

The Bureau of Meteorology (BoM) has warned that the coming weeks will likely bring more wet weather to Australia’s east coast.

Insurers have a massive clean-up and repair job involving thousands of flood damaged properties in towns on Australia’s east coast. According to the Insurance Council of Australia (ICA), at the end of March, the claims damage bill exceeded $2.3 billion but with nearly 160,000 claims still outstanding.