Councils struggle to access millions in flood recovery funding

Flood-hit NT councils face funding delays as federal minister calls for reform In short: Three Central Australian councils say they have struggled to access disaster recovery funding months after damaging floods, with the federal emergency management minister acknowledging the system needs reform. The federal government is reviewing disaster recovery funding arrangements, with reforms aimed at reducing delays for councils. What's next? The NT government says two councils' claims remain under assessment and acknowledges national funding requirements are difficult for some councils to meet. The floodwaters have long receded from Central Australia's roads, but the path to repairing them remains tangled in paperwork. Almost eight months after heavy rainfall damaged infrastructure and isolated remote communities, three councils say they have struggled to access government disaster recovery funding. "Council has had to work through an extremely painful process, 79 pages worth of documentation and the red tape that was around that," he said. The application, worth between $4.3 million and $4.7 million, covers more than 30 roads and 127 damaged sites across eight communities. Mr Vashist said the cash-strapped council had paid up-front for engineers and consultants, with no time frame provided for a funding decision. "We don't want to go into another wet season where no work has commenced," he said. "The complexities are insane." Ms Urquhart said her council had attempted to access funding but found the application requirements "too difficult to meet for remote councils". She said the arrangements also prevented the council from using recovery funding to build new bridges or causeways in flood-prone areas where none previously existed. "It's an uneven playing field for remote councils," she said. Alice Springs Town Council chief executive Peter Varris said he did not believe his council had received funding for earlier flood damage either. "The processes are clumsy. There's no doubt about that," he said. Mr Varris suggested up-front payments to help councils engage contractors and begin recovery works while awaiting reimbursement. Federal minister acknowledges delays Federal Emergency Management Minister Kristy McBain said the arrangements operated through a reimbursement system involving both levels of government, with councils submitting applications through the NT government. She acknowledged the process was taking too long and said a national task force, including Barkly Regional Council and Katherine Town Council, was examining delays. "I don't think it's good enough that it takes councils this long," she said. Ms McBain also encouraged the NT government to review its own procedures. "These processes sit with the Emergency Management Minister in the Territory and obviously we would love the Territory to take a look at what their processes are, like every state," she said. The NT government confirmed Barkly's application remained under assessment, while Alice Springs Town Council's claims, submitted in June and updated in August, were also being assessed. It said MacDonnell Regional Council had not submitted a claim, but reconstruction applications remained open until April. A government spokesperson acknowledged national funding requirements were making it difficult for some councils to submit claims and said the Territory was working with the Commonwealth on reforms to simplify the process. However, the spokesperson did not confirm whether the NT government would review its own procedures. The spokesperson said councils were paid once claims were assessed as eligible, before the Territory sought reimbursement from the Commonwealth. The concerns come as Central Australia recovers from another series of damaging storms this month, raising fears about infrastructure repairs before further severe weather. [Image text:] E2 1.8. 1.6. MC 1.4