PRIME Minister Kevin Rudd has announced further financial support measures for those affected by natural disaster in Victoria and Queensland.
An additional $5 million will be provided, on top of what has already been announced, for emergency relief in bushfire-affected Victoria and flood-affected Queensland, Mr Rudd told parliament.
"This will be provided immediately to church and other non-governmental organisations working in the field, such as Anglicare, the Salvation Army, St Vincent de Paul and others to help them provide food and essential supplies to those affected," he said.
The federal government will allow local councils to re-prioritise their projects under the government's $250 million regional and community infrastructure program, to better meet their needs.
"These priorities will vary from council to council depending on the individual circumstances of the council and the impacts of this terrible disaster."
The money is untied and councils can do what they want with it. "In order to assist fire-affected Victorian local government authorities and flood-affected Queensland local government authorities, I've asked that the payment of the grants be accelerated."
Those councils were due to receive payments on May 15, but will instead receive them on February 23.
Assistance will also be provided for those who have lost their income as a result of the fires or floods, including small businesses and farmers.
And the federal and Victorian governments will work together with Centrelink and Medicare to help people who have lost their driver licences and other proof of identity to re-establish their identities.
The commonwealth will enter negotiations with the Victorian and Queensland governments to establish a farming and small business assistance fund to purchase or replace premises or machinery.
Job seekers who volunteered in the affected areas to help with the clean up, and those who lived in locations where job opportunities had been destroyed, would not be asked to look for work, Mr Rudd said.
Mr Rudd said people who had lost their main source of income because of the fires would be given the dole for 13 weeks, to help them get by.
Farmers and people who worked for small businesses would be given payments up to the maximum rate of Newstart.
Those payments would be extended beyond 13 weeks if needed. Medicare and Centrelink would also help people re-establish their identities.
The Victorian and Queensland state governments will be able to draw on the $6.4 billion social housing fund which forms part of Labor's $42 billion second economic stimulus package.
Victoria would be able to draw on its estimated $1.5 billion share to help those left homeless by the fires, while Queensland could access its $1.3 billion share to assist those affected by flooding.
Similarly, state governments having to reconstruct and repair schools damaged by the disasters could access the $14.7 billion Building the Revolution program.
"The Victorian Government will be able to give priority construction and school infrastructure in communities affected by bushfires,'' Mr Rudd said.
"The Queensland government will be able to give priority to repairs and upgrades to those schools which have been damaged by flooding in north Queensland.''
This was the start of dealing with the unfolding tragedy, he said.
"Given the magnitude of this ... we have deliberately made the decision to place no cap on the commonwealth's contribution to the recovery and reconstruction effort.
"This government will be partners for the long term.''
The commonwealth will enter negotiations with the Victorian and Queensland governments to establish a farming and small business assistance fund to purchase or replace premises or machinery.
Job seekers who volunteered in the affected areas to help with the clean up, and those who lived in locations where job opportunities had been destroyed, would not be asked to look for work, Mr Rudd said.
