Yarra Ranges Council is calling on the federal government to lend a supportive hand to Yarra Ranges communities who continue to suffer following the 9 June storms and multiple lockdowns.
According to council, the “conservative estimate” of funds needed for full storm recovery sits at $65 million, however this estimate was gathered prior to secondary impact assessments that provided a deeper understanding of the widespread destruction.
A dedicated recovery team has been established by council at a cost that council “simply can’t manage on it’s own”.
Yarra Ranges Mayor Fiona McAllister said that the scale of the widespread damage inflicted on homes, buildings and public assets including roads, water, gas and telecommunications infrastructure has never been experienced before and is complex.
“The recovery from this storm event could take up to three years, and we are still uncovering new challenges and hurdles as the full-scale impact of the event becomes clearer,” Cr McAllister said.
“We are appreciative of the joint state and federal funding delivered so far, for Bushfire Recovery Victoria to assist residents with clearing trees from private properties that have been damaged.
“However, there remains a huge financial gap in resourcing and support equally many tens of millions of dollars even by conservative estimates. We simply can not do this alone and need other levels of government to commit money and resources to support our communities,” she said.
According to council, the majority of residents affected by the storms fall outside the eligibility criteria for the current funding program, leaving council to face the “enormous and urgent” job of cleaning up debris ahead of the next bushfire season.
If state and federal governments don’t step up support, council risks having to divert resources from other critical community services and infrastructure.
Council is also calling on the federal government to address telecommunications issues as a matter of priority given 34 communities lost mobile and NBN service during the storm
Almost two months later, NBN service is yet to be reinstated in some parts of the hills.
“The telecommunications outages were extremely distressing. During and after the storm, many residents were unable to contact 000 for assistance, unable to access emergency information or even reach out to their loved ones,” Cr McAllister said.
“Mobile phone service is vital in an emergency, and the consequences of no service can be catastrophic. We’ve been working with our community over the last 12 months to understand how we can strengthen telecommunications in our region, but we urgently need the Federal Government to drive improvements across 000 and NBN services now.”
Cr McAllister also highlighted the huge toll that the storm has taken on local businesses, compounding the impact felt from multiple COVID-19 lockdowns and resulting in a huge downturn in visitation to the region.
“Yarra Ranges is a hugely important part of the state’s, and indeed the country’s, tourism industry,” Cr McAllister said.
“We attract over seven million visitors each year and generate $620 million annually for the state, but the storm on top of the lockdowns has meant that many of our amazing local businesses are now struggling to stay afloat.
“We need targeted support, including financial support, that drives local tourism so our businesses can remain open, our local people can remain in their jobs, and we can maintain the significant contribution our region makes to the local, state and national economies.”
