Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk and Prime Minister Scott Morrison trade blows over Queensland disaster relief funding
Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk and Prime Minister Scott Morrison have visited flood-affected communities in the state's south-east today, as several areas push to be included in the disaster funding.
Scott Morrison confirmed Queensland would now be included in the country's national emergency declaration, a decision the Premier said was a week too late.
"The time for that national emergency was probably a week ago," Ms Palaszczuk said.
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Scott Morrison inspects damage from the Queensland flood crisis Nine
"So we've actually gone past that, the floodwaters have gone down.
"We've actually used our own state-specific disaster declarations and they've provided us with all the necessary powers that we need."
Ms Palaszczuk said the state had granted $7.72 million in community recovery grants to flood-impacted residents with the total bill for insurance claims exceeding $1 billion.
She added more support from the federal government was needed to cope with future flood mitigation.
"There is a $5 billion fund there, sitting there from the federal government," she said.
"The money needs to get out the door," she said.
Clean-ups are continuing across flood-affected Queensland and New South Wales. Nine
Of 20 flood mitigation projects proposed, three have been approved for funding by the federal government.
The prime minister said flood mitigation was a state responsibility, adding the premier had not asked for a national emergency to be declared.
"The Queensland Premier had every opportunity to write to me a week ago and ask me to do so and she didn't choose to do that," Mr Morrison said.
"You may well ask the same question, why hasn't the Queensland Government funded those?"
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Members of the ADF join up with community volunteers to clear the house of an elderly couple, in Woodburn, in the Northern Rivers region of NSW. Janie Barrett
Several flood affected communities outside the declared emergency zone are ineligible for the Commonwealth's $3000 disaster payment, leaving several residents frustrated at the lack of help.
The areas of Lismore, Richmond Valley and Clarence Valley in New South Wales have been dubbed 'catastrophe zones'.
However flood affected areas like Tweed Heads have been left off the list.
Over 600 homes in the Tweed Shire have been damaged by flooding.
Heavy flooding in Pitt Town, north West of Sydney, NSW Brook Mitchell
"Disbelief is probably our first reaction," Tweed Shire Council mayor Chris Cherry said.
"These disaster payments shouldn't go on your post code or your geographical area they really need to go on the devastation that you have reached."
Tweed resident Larry Colombo said he has lost up to $100,000 in flood damages and has been forced to temporarily close his business, adding the exclusion from federal government help is another blow.
"We're losing money every day," he said.
"Now with ScoMo saying that Tweed area is not damaged or hasn't supported us as much as down the coast it's really devastating for us."
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