Extra funds to help QLD floods clean-up

QLD floods

Hundreds of rangers and volunteers have mobilised to bring national and marine parks back online after large swathes copped a battering during last week’s QLD floods.

Visiting clean-up efforts at Manly, Environment Minister Meaghan Scanlon announced an additional $745,000 from the Palaszczuk Government would be provided to volunteer groups to help speed up recovery efforts, with huge volumes of debris in waterways and walking tracks along national parks.

“Right now, more than 40 parks from Brisbane and the Gold Coast to Wide Bay remain closed or partially closed,” Scanlon said. “With recovery efforts well underway in our communities, the work now begins at parks and marine areas to clean them up and get eco-tourism firing as part of our economic recovery plan.

“There’s a mammoth task ahead of us, but crews have swung into action already cleaning up pontoons on Mulgumpin (Moreton Island).

“As rangers focus on rebuilding damaged tracks and re-opening parks, the additional $745,000 will enable up to 16 volunteer groups to focus efforts on clearing rubbish that has ended up in our rivers and the bay.”

Minister Scanlon said efforts by rangers and volunteers would look to have most impacted national and marine parks open for public use within weeks and well before the busy Easter school holiday period.

Joan Pease, Lytton MP said one of the groups sharing in the additional $745,000 would be Healthy Land and Water, whose volunteers have been cleaning the Manly foreshore.

“Volunteering has been an integral part of Queensland’s response to the floods,” Pease said. “This funding will help with the co-ordination of the clean-up as well as other items they might need like PPE.

“Our creeks, rivers and mangroves would’ve taken months for rangers alone to clean up, but they’ll now be able to bounce back quicker because of our vollies.”

For more information, visit: www.statements.qld.gov.au

 

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