Qld govt: Debbie recovery funds not enough

The Queensland government says fresh money pledged by the Commonwealth for Cyclone Debbie recovery still isn't enough to cover the cost of the disaster.

Dave Mcinnerney inspects the damage to his motel at Shute Harbour

The Queensland government says fresh money pledged for Cyclone Debbie recovery still isn't enough. (AAP)

The Turnbull government has increased the amount of disaster assistance being paid to those affected by Cyclone Debbie, but the Queensland government says it's only half of what's needed.

The Commonwealth on Tuesday added $18 million to the Natural Disaster Relief and Recovery Arrangements (NDRRA) Category D funding package.

This brings the federal government's total funding for Category D to $48.1 million.

Federal Justice Minister Michael Keenan says they've been working closely with coalition colleagues in affected areas, and again threw the blame on the state government for the delay in extra funding.

"If they had spent more time collecting impact information and providing it to the Commonwealth, rather than putting out baseless media releases, this issue could have been resolved months ago," Mr Keenan said in a statement.

But Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk said federal funding was less than half of what is needed.

"My government had committed $110 million for long-term reconstruction and recovery projects following the devastation of Debbie," the premier said.

"Once again, I urge the prime minister to visit the affected region. I urge him to match my government's commitment on NDRRA Category D funding."

The Local Government Association of Queensland welcomed the additional federal funding, but also said it would only go part of the way to paying for the cost of the disaster, which is expected to be well over a billion dollars.

"This decision should be above politics. We are talking about getting regional economies back on their feet," LGAQ chief executive Greg Hallam said.

In particular Mr Hallan said the federal government needed to prioritise funding for the communities of Mackay, Rockhampton and Whitsunday, saying all had infrastructure projects to reduce flood damage in the future.


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Source: AAP



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