Local Land Services, Dunoon and District Gazette
Volunteer-based not-for-profit organisations have received vital support through the Early Needs Recovery Program to help rebuild, repair and clear fences in flood-affected areas.
Following a competitive grant process, three not-for-profit organisations secured a share of $1 million in funding which will be used to co-ordinate and complete on-ground fencing work along the east coast of NSW.
Early Needs Recovery Project manager Peta Holcombe said flood-impacted primary producers were continuing to be supported during the recovery from the devastating floods and severe storm events from last year.
“This is a positive outcome for flood-affected primary producers who had fences either completely washed away, damaged or covered by debris during the floods and storms in early 2022,” Ms Holcombe said.
“By providing this funding to ShoreTrack, BlazeAid and Rotary Australia to help with the fence rebuilding process, it is hoped to take some of the pressure off farmers to get this done so they can concentrate on other parts of their businesses and recover production quicker.”
Business manager from ShoreTrack Jill Ashley welcomed the funding and expected on-ground activities to start in March 2023.
“Our team of local young people who are volunteering their time to help their community are ready to go,” Ms Ashley said.
“They are all looking forward to working with local farmers and landholders to help get them back up and running sooner, while building their skills and work readiness.
“The funding we receive from the Early Needs Recovery Program will really help us accelerate how we coordinate and resource our services to get more boots on the ground, build community connections and speed up local recovery.”
The Early Needs Recovery Program’s Fence Rebuilding Program will run until April 2024 and it is expected approximately 660km of fences will be rebuilt, repaired or cleared as part of the program, assisting up to 560 primary producers.
Primary producers in the North Coast, Hunter, Greater Sydney and South East Local Land Services regions wanting further information about the Early Needs Recovery Program can visit www.lls.nsw.gov.au/early-needs or email recovery@lls.nsw.gov.au.
Local Land Services is delivering the Early Needs Recovery Program in collaboration with the Department of Regional NSW and the NSW Department of Primary Industries.
The program is part of the $150 million Primary Industry Support Package which is cofunded by the Australian and NSW governments under the Disaster Recovery Funding Arrangements.
This article appeared in the Dunoon and District Gazette, April – May 2023.
