Queensland has announced a half-a-billion dollar package to help flood victims get back on their feet as leaders face questions of how to manage future disasters.
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The state is seeking Commonwealth endorsement to evenly split the $559 million assistance package targeting small businesses, primary producers, sporting organisations and local councils.
If it's given the tick, grants of up to $50,000 will be available for affected small businesses and NGOs, $75,000 for primary producers, $20,000 for sports clubs and $1 million for each affected local government.
"This is the first round of this kind of assistance and we anticipate more may be required," Deputy Premier Steven Miles said on Friday.
The state is looking at a total damage bill that "would easily be into the billions" taking into account insurance claims and repairs to infrastructure, roads and the electricity network, Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk said on Friday.
Queensland's economy is "in a good situation at the moment" but Treasurer Cameron Dick will be assessing the impact on the budget, Ms Palaszczuk said.
"At this stage everything would be okay," she said.
In the face of more natural disasters brought about by climate change, Ms Palaszczuk said it is important to "build back better" to reduce impacts next time.
"Let's face it, it's climate change," she said.
"I've never seen so many natural disasters we seem to be dealing with more and more, more cyclones, more floods, a couple of years ago...we had the catastrophic fire event in central Queensland," she said.
But the disaster did not prompt a rethink of the state's fossil fuel output and current renewable energy target of 50 per cent by 2030.
""Queensland is lucky, we have coal, we have gas, and we have huge renewable investment, which is going to really rapidly increase over the next 10 years," she said.
One area the state can improve is how building applications are assessed in disaster prone areas, Mr Miles, the state's planning minister, said.
"I have visited flooded areas in recent days that frankly should not have been built upon," he said on Friday.
Work needs to be done to both mitigate future flood risk, as well as ensuring new homes are not built in areas exposed to natural disasters.
"There is clearly a need for our planning system to properly consider not just the history of disasters, but the projections going forward," he said.
Australian Associated Press
