HUGE FUNDING BOOST FOR FLOOD RECOVERY IN THE NORTHERN RIVERS

By Sarah Waters

Tweed Shire Council has received a $26 million funding boost from the Australian and NSW governments to help restore and improve community assets damaged in the 2017 and 2022 foods.

The funding announcement was made in Murwillumbah recently by Federal Member for Richmond Justine Elliot and Member for Lismore Janelle Saffn.

It is part of a $121 million package for the North Coast through the Infrastructure Betterment Fund and Community Local Infrastructure Recovery Package - Community Assets Program.

Under the Infrastructure Betterment Fund, the Tweed has been awarded $10 million to relocate the Council Works Depot from its current location in Buchanan Street at South Murwillumbah to land above the food level in the new industrial estate in South Murwillumbah.

An additional $15.5 million has been granted to Tweed Shire Council under the Community Assets Program (CAP), which will be used to help repair, restore and improve a suite of community facilities.

These will include roads, car parks and pathways located at food-affected sportsgrounds and parks at Bilambil, Kingscliff, Tweed Heads, Murwillumbah, Uki, Pottsville and Terranora. Public toilets and shelters at Murwillumbah, Chinderah, Chillingham, Fingal Head, Pottsville, Casuarina and Kingscliff.

Parks and playgrounds, including Budd Park in Murwillumbah, Overall Drive in Pottsville, Saddle Way in Murwillumbah, Turnock St Park in Chinderah and Sweetnam Park in Uki will be restored.

Three community buildings and halls projects at Crabbes Creek Community Hall, Tumbulgum Hall and Tweed Heads Community Centre will also take place.

Much-needed erosion and landslip repair work will be undertaken.

Mayor of Tweed Shire Chris Cherry said the funding was a game- changer for the Tweed’s food recovery.

“We are very grateful to be granted almost $26 million in food recovery funding from the Australian and NSW governments today,” Ms Cherry said.

“Without this funding, we simply would not be able to afford the repair and restoration of so many of our community assets - it would take us years to be able to fund such an extensive program.

“Our food restoration team has been hard at work since the 2022 food, completing more than 2500 damage repairs to date with almost 1000 damaged sites still to repair – and that is just on our roads network.

“To get a feel for the size of the job, to complete these over the next two years, we’re effectively starting 10 jobs every week,” she said.

Tweed Shire Council General Manager Troy Green also welcomed the funding, saying $10 million for the Council Depot would have lasting benefts for not just Council but also the wider Tweed community.

“This Infrastructure Betterment funding will bring about generational change for the Tweed as it will enable us to rebuild our works depot off the foodplain and allow us to respond to any future natural disasters in a much more timely manner,” Mr Green said.

“In the 2017 food, we lost much of our machinery as the depot was fooded.

“And in 2022, while we were better prepared and managed to move our machinery to higher ground, the depot was still inundated and took considerable effort by our crews to salvage the materials we were not able to move.

“This funding will allow us to get cracking on building a new depot at our new land swap development in the new industrial estate in South Murwillumbah.

“Once that is completed, it means our crews - as well as other emergency service providers - will be able to respond quickly to any future natural disasters,” he said.

Work on the new depot is expected to start in June next year.

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