Murray Watt (Queensland, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry) Share this | Hansard source

Last year, communities in the Central West of New South Wales experienced floods on a scale that had never been seen before, and Senator Sheldon is right: it was described by those who experienced it as an 'inland tsunami'. Tomorrow, in fact, will be one year since the devastating flood that took lives and properties in Eugowra and a number of other nearby communities, and I know that we'll all be thinking of residents of Eugowra when tomorrow arrives.

I travelled to some of these communities such as Parkes, Forbes, Eugowra and many others, as did Senator Sheldon and many others across politics, including Senator Davey, in the days following the event. It was clear to me, as I'm sure it was to others, that, as we delivered short-term recovery support, more would need to be done for a longer-term strategy to improve flood resilience. That's why I'm pleased that last week the Albanese government agreed to match funding announced by the Minns government in New South Wales to jointly deliver $100 million to the most flood impacted parts of Central West New South Wales. That funding will support repairs and replacements of roads, community halls and other infrastructure, sporting fields, parks and playgrounds as well as legal aid assistance for flood victims.

The funding also includes an in-principle commitment towards a $40 million resilient housing program, with details of the program to be agreed following consultation with the local community. The support we announced last week is on top of the half a billion dollars the federal and New South Wales governments have jointly delivered to New South Wales, including areas within the Central West which were impacted by those floods last year. The feedback received so far about last week's funding has been very positive, and people in the Central West are excited to see this support. Cabonne Mayor Kevin Beatty told Triple M Central West that this was fantastic news and gave some people a bit of direction and a little bit of certainty about where they're heading in recovery. We will continue to stand by these communities as they recover.