Newsroom

February 28, 2025

The Federal Government’s flood recovery grant system has failed North Queenslanders, with absurd eligibility criteria leaving individuals, businesses and primary producers without the support they desperately need after the recent devastating floods.

Member for Hinchinbrook and Katter’s Australian Party (KAP) Deputy Leader, Nick Dametto MP, has slammed the red tape restricting disaster recovery payments, describing it as a kick in the guts for thousands of North Queenslanders.

"People who have suffered significant loss or damage, been cut off for days by floodwaters, and gone without power for the best part of a week, are being denied disaster recovery payments simply because they didn’t suffer inundation.

"This bureaucratic nonsense requires residents to prove that their home was inundated by water or that they lost twenty-five thousand dollars’ worth of goods to only be eligible for one thousand dollars of relief. What a joke.

“The same can be said for small businesses who are being denied assistance because they were not technically inundated, despite losing thousands of dollars in stock and being forced to stay closed for days due to flooding and power outages.

"To add insult to injury, many affected areas don’t even appear on the eligibility list. It should be automatic that every suburb within the impacted zone is included in the disaster recovery scheme. After going through such a traumatic ordeal, the last thing people need is a fight on their hands just to have their area recognised.

“Our primary producers continue to add up the damage they’ve suffered and badly need Category D Disaster Assistance up to $75,000 if they are to have any hope of repairing their paddocks and replanting cane this year.

"The resistance from the Federal Labor Government during Hinchinbrook’s darkest hour is appalling. They are quick to advertise the millions in assistance they claim to be providing, but the reality is that it’s all a facade. The funding is tied up by criteria designed to disadvantage the people and businesses who need it most.

"It’s hard to fathom that this close to a federal election the Labor Government is content on turning its back on North Queensland.

“I am calling on the Albanese Government to urgently overhaul its disaster recovery criteria.”

Federal Member for Kennedy, Bob Katter, echoed these concerns, slamming the government’s narrow eligibility criteria.

“We’re still out here fighting to get all affected areas recognised. How on earth is it fair that some suburbs and towns have been left off the list? We’re having to send them in manually to the Minister’s office.

“Primary producers, small businesses and residents in Kennedy have been hit hard by this disaster. Now they need the government to step up and provide the support they deserve.

“These businesses, many of which are the backbone of our community, are suffering not only from the direct impacts of the disaster but from years of inaction on infrastructure upgrades and disaster preparedness. I urge the Prime Minister to ensure that these industries receive the financial assistance they need to rebuild and recover.”