Two Hunter councils will share in almost $2 million in federal grants to help them prepare for natural disasters.
Singleton council will receive $675,000 for its 'Disaster Ready Singleton Plan' while $1.18 million will go to Muswellbrook Council for the 'Denman Drainage Strategy'. The money will come from the Albanese government's new Disaster Ready Fund.
"The Hunter region faces the threat of bushfires and floods every year and natural disasters are becoming more common, and more dangerous due to climate change," Hunter MP Dan Repacholi said.
"The Singleton project will help council gain a greater understanding of the impact of natural hazards on their assets in respect to potentially hazardous goods and develop the community's understanding of floodplain risk management.
"Muswellbrook council will use the funding to upgrade drainage in Palace Street and the Golden Highway in Denman to improve the management of existing and future stormwater."
The fund was an election commitment to deliver national long-term mitigation funding to help protect communities from natural disasters.
State and territory governments submitted applications for projects in collaboration with local councils and community groups.
Federal Minister for Emergency Management, Murray Watt said it was critical to build defences to better protect communities and their regional economies.
"We know that every dollar spent on disaster resilience and mitigation delivers a return on investment to governments and households nine times over," he said.
"But as a country we invest far more in recovering from disasters than we do defending against them, and that mentality has got to change."
The National Emergency Management Agency will work with each jurisdiction to negotiate funding agreements with funds to be provided from July 2023. Projects must be completed within three years.
There were more than 300 applications submitted across all states and territories.
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