THE NSW Labor Government has sped up delivery of more than $14.4 million in new funding to Tenterfield Shire Council to repair roads and transport infrastructure damaged during natural disasters.
The extra investment has come after the council was one of the first in the state to sign a new pilot funding agreement with the NSW Reconstruction Authority and Transport for NSW which has sped up delivery of disaster recovery funding.
Before the introduction of the new Tripartite Agreements, councils struggling with the financial impacts of disasters had to use their own funds to repair infrastructure before they could be reimbursed with disaster funding from other levels of government.
After signing up to the Tripartite Agreements, councils can access advance funding, from the NSW and Australian governments through Disaster Recovery Funding Arrangements (DRFA), at the beginning of each stage of reconstruction works.
The Tripartite Agreements now mean there is less financial pressure on councils, faster road repairs for communities and better collaboration between government agencies.
Minister for Emergency Services Jihad Dib said:
“The Tripartite Agreements are a great example of government working with communities to develop new solutions that improve disaster response.
“We are committed to building on the success of these agreements and rolling out more support to help communities rebuild faster after disasters.”
Minister for Regional Transport and Roads Jenny Aitchison said:
“For too long councils have struggled to get timely access to disaster road recovery funding, so the new Tripartite Agreements were introduced to speed up the process.
“The Tripartite Agreements have been a huge success as Transport for NSW was able to deliver $296 million into councils’ bank accounts in the last three months alone. Prior to the 2022 natural disasters, a normal budget would have approximately $190 million per year for natural disaster road recovery funding.
“With the $3.3 billion in the budget allocated over the next four years for natural disaster road recovery funding, we will be rolling out funding faster than ever before.
“Regional communities will now be able to rebuild roads and restore vital transport links more quickly thanks to the collaborative efforts of councils, Transport for NSW and the NSW Reconstruction Authority.”
Parliamentary Secretary for Disaster Recovery and Member for Lismore Janelle Saffin said:
“I backed Tenterfield Shire Council all the way to ensure that it could benefit from tranche 2 of the Tripartite Agreement pilot in the same way four other councils in my electorate have done by signing up in tranche 1.
“This means that residents in local communities now won’t have to wait as long to get their roads and transport infrastructure fixed after natural disasters.
“The Tripartite Agreement pilot is a major advance in disaster recovery, and importantly, it paves the way to better procedural preparedness.
“I know what a difference it will make for Tenterfield
Shire Council and other rural councils. I commend the NSW Reconstruction
Authority and Transport for NSW for leading this new way of rebuilding roads
and transport infrastructure.”
Tenterfield Shire Council Mayor Bronwyn Petrie said:
“We are immensely grateful for the establishment of the Tripartite arrangement between Council and the State and Federal governments, acknowledging the collaborative work between the staff of the three levels of government and the advocacy of Minister Aitchison and local member Janelle Saffin.
“The challenges of financing milestone payments and then awaiting reimbursement from the State and Federal governments for all the disaster recovery projects across the shire would have been untenable due to the cash flow implications for our council given the severity of the disasters and the high cost of repairs.”
MINISTERIAL VISIT: Janelle Saffin MP, Jenny Aitchison MP and Cr Bronwyn Petrie during the Minister’s recent visit to Tenterfield to discuss transport issues.
