It has been a heartbreaking and challenging time for many Tasmanians over the last week, and the full extent of the impact of the floods is still to be fully revealed.
Councils will now move from their work in supporting those directly affected and working with emergency services, to making places safe, assessing the damage, and planning to restore essential infrastructure. They will also work with a myriad of organisations to ensure assistance to individuals, to enable their daily lives to return to normal as soon as possible.
“Councils actively work to ensure the safety of local residents through appropriate planning for emergency risks, maintaining local response capacities and ensuring the community recovers from any emergencies that might occur,” said LGAT President, Mayor Doug Chipman.
“In the case of a major disaster, providing emergency relief services and implementing recovery actions for affected communities can place a major strain on council staff and resources.”
“Many council staff and a great deal of council resources will be directed towards restoring communities, engaging with communities, coordinating activities across agencies, and coping with increased demand for services such as removing fallen or dangerous trees from roadsides, or repairing damaged roads and bridges,” said Mayor Chipman.
“The costs to the most impacted councils and communities will be significant and therefore the activation of the Natural Disaster Relief and Recovery Arrangements is most welcome,” said Mayor Chipman.
“It will enable councils to proceed with recovery arrangements with confidence.”
The Local Government Association of Tasmania and councils will continue to work closely with the State Government in relation to both immediate recovery work and the funding for restoring communities.
Local Government Association of Tasmania
