Disaster assistance has been made available to Central Highlands and Southern Midlands councils to help pay for the costs of fighting the Pelham Bushfire, the clean-up and road repairs.
Assistance is being provided through the jointly funded Commonwealth-State Disaster Recovery Funding Arrangements.
Minister for Natural Disaster and Emergency Management David Littleproud said the package would help communities rebuild.
“The Federal Government will pick up part of the bill for road and infrastructure repairs, so these communities can get back to what they do best sooner,” Minister Littleproud said.
“It also means we’ll help cover the cost of fighting the fires and the clean up after them.
“This is on top of financial support already announced for communities affected by the Fingal fire in north east Tasmania.
“We will stand shoulder-to-shoulder with these communities and make more assistance available if it is needed.”
Premier of Tasmania Will Hodgman said a large number of firefighting personnel, appliances and aircraft have been used to combat the Pelham fire, which is still burning.
“Our first responders are doing a remarkable job of protecting communities and I commend them for their efforts,” Premier Hodgman said.
“The Pelham bushfire continues to burn and has so far destroyed 2,200 hectares of land in the Central Highlands and Southern Midlands local government areas.”
The Commonwealth and Tasmanian Governments will continue to work closely with councils to support local communities recover from this event.
Information on disaster assistance can be found on the Australian Government’s Disaster Assist website at www.disasterassist.gov.au.
Media contacts:
Robert Herrick 0432 324 576 (Minister Littleproud)
Ben Davidson 0418 301 051 (Premier Hodgman)