Flood Affected Need More Thank Initial Emergency Payments

The Federal government announced emergency payments were available for flood-affected individuals in 23 disaster-declared LGAs and the state government has offered concessional loans and transport subsidies for eligible farmers and businesses.

NSW Farmers President James Jackson said they were an important first step in helping people get through the flood disaster, but more long-term support would be needed.

“People are hurting, and this money will help them meet some of their immediate needs as they deal with yet another disaster this year,” Mr Jackson said.

“However, we must remember that for many of the flood-affected farmers this is yet another wipeout, and they have potentially gone a year without any income at all while managing the costs of essential repairs.

“It is critical that the state and federal governments now offer the same sort of support they gave to farmers and businesses up north earlier in the year, because these natural disasters take a long time to recover from - both emotionally and financially.”

• Topics:

• Floods