New South Wales to benefit from bushfire mitigation funding

Minister Keenan said the funding will be provided under the Commonwealth’s $15 million National Bushfire Mitigation Programme, $4 million of which has been made available to NSW, to better prepare communities from the threat of bushfires.

“The Commonwealth Government is committed to ensuring New South Wales is disaster prepared and disaster resilient before the next fire season hits,” Mr Keenan said.

"It’s vital that we do everything we can to prepare communities and reduce the potential for harm to help make communities across Australia safer.”

Minister Grant said this program enables NSW to identify projects that are essential to mitigating the severity and impact of bushfires.

“Our firefighters need to be able to get to the fires before they reach properties and threaten lives, and the best way to ensure they can do this is to have a properly maintained network of fire trails,” Mr Grant said.

“Most of this funding allocation is directed to maintenance works on fire trails in some of the state’s most difficult to access areas."

The projects to be funded include maintenance works on the following fire trails:

• Waterview Trail, Albury ($41,877)
• Majors Creek Gully Fire Trail, Queanbeyan-Palerang ($188,470)
• Heidi Place Fire Trail, The Hills ($26,574)
• Devil Creek Bank Trail, Balranald ($28,000)
• Reserve Rd, Inverell ($30,000)
• Kings Mountain Trail/Ghin-Doo-Ee, Mid Coast ($17,000)
• Tank Trail, Port Stephens ($45,000)
• Tongue Trail, Port Stephens ($45,000)
• Beryls Trail, Richmond Valley ($30,000)
• Griffins Fire Trail, Shoalhaven ($30,000)
• Mount Kembla Ring Track Fire Trail, Wollongong ($44,820)
• Hacking River Fire Trail, Wollongong ($28,000)
• Blackjack Primary, Gunnedah ($10,000)
• SC 1.1 Fire Trail, Campbelltown ($26,000)
• Andrews Trail, Wagga Wagga x 3 sections ($37,000 total)

Funding of $11,000 has also been allocated to the Clarence Valley for the installation of a new in-ground water tank at the Diggers Camp.

The Australian and New South Wales governments are committed to working together to build on existing bushfire management practices and implement strategies to address risks to the safety of Australians.

For further information please refer to the Emergency New South Wales website.