CYCLONE SEROJA — COMMUNITY WELFARE AND OUTREACH
PROGRAM
1203. Hon MARTIN ALDRIDGE to the parliamentary secretary representing the
Minister for Community Services:
I refer to the $9 million severe
tropical cyclone Seroja community welfare and outreach program.
(1) How many
additional mental health staff, by FTE, have been provided to support
communities impacted by cyclone Seroja through this funding allocation?
(2) Please identify which local government areas are
currently receiving additional mental health staff through this program.
(3) How much of the $9 million has been disbursed to date?
(4) Please
provide a breakdown of how the $9 million program is being spent, including
specific programs or projects that are being funded.
Hon KYLE
McGINN replied:
On behalf of the parliamentary
secretary representing the Minister for Community Services, I thank the member
for some notice of the question. The following answer has been provided by the
Minister for Community Services.
(1) To support
mental health needs, six additional FTE have been provided to support
communities impacted by cyclone Seroja.
(2) The following
local government areas are currently receiving additional mental health staff
through this program: Shire of Northampton,
including Kalbarri; Shire of Chapman Valley; Shire of Morawa; Shire of
Perenjori; Shire of Three Springs; Shire of Mingenew; Shire of Carnamah; City
of Greater Geraldton, including Mullewa; Shire of Koorda; and Shire of Shark
Bay.
(3) As at 8 December 2021, Communities has approved
100 applications and provided $481 508 for category 3 financial assistance to replace or repair essential
household items and category 4 financial assistance to repair homes to
be habitable, safe and secure. It has funded 14 recovery FTE positions at a cost
of approximately $1.27 million.
(4) The community welfare and outreach program is a two-year
program funded under the joint commonwealth and state disaster recovery
funding arrangements. The program is designed to support the social wellbeing of people who have been severely impacted by
tropical cyclone Seroja. The program funds positions, service provision
and other activities that enable welfare, outreach, and recovery and
resilience-building support to impacted communities. To focus efforts over the
next 12 to 24 months, Communities has developed recovery priorities structured
around the following areas: financial hardship; emergency accommodation and support; personal support, such as social,
emotional and psychological support services; and community resilience,
training and development.
The program is coordinated by the Department
of Communities; however, aspects of the program are being delivered by other
agencies and service providers, such as the Australian Red Cross, Centacare,
Desert Blue Connect and the Salvation Army. The staffing and services provided
within this program are being delivered across four operational recovery hubs:
Geraldton, Northampton, Morawa and Kalbarri. These locations service all 16
affected local governments.