Thousands rally in Taree to call for $75,000 government grants for flood recovery
Thousands of residents affected by record-breaking floods at Taree on the NSW Mid North Coast have rallied, calling for more financial support.
Organisers of the rally say about 3,000 local farmers, business owners and affected families gathered outside the Manning River Rowing Club, on the banks of the Manning River, on Monday.
At the height of the flooding in late May, the Manning River at Taree exceeded the 1929 flood level of 6 metres.
In the wake of the floods, the MidCoast Council estimates there has been $100 million in damage to the region's public spaces and parks alone, with more than 600 homes and 100 businesses damaged.
Currently, grants of up to $25,000 are available for small businesses, primary producers and not-for-profits to help them recover.
Residents are calling for Category D funding to be made available, which would provide grants of up to $75,000 jointly funded by the state and federal governments.
So far the state government hasn't applied for this additional funding.
A petition to the NSW parliament was circulated at the rally, calling for the additional funding.
Rally organiser Rob Chapman's home was inundated during the floods.
Mr Chapman said Monday's rally was about bringing the entire community together to push for greater support.
"We've been affected in different ways, shapes and forms right along the river," he said.
"We just need to show a force through our local politicians and federal politicians to the halls of Canberra and halls of NSW parliament that we aren't going to be forgotten up here.
"Category D funding isn't a silver bullet, none of us think that.
"But it will just [go] … a long way to help businesses get back on their feet, to help farmers help buy their feed and starting their process off again."
Taree dairy farmer Douglas Schlenert said more financial support was urgently needed.
"We are on a dairy farm over on the river here and we have lost 90 per cent of our cattle down to the ocean," he said.
Taree local Robyne Keogh wasn't affected by the flood but attended the rally to show her support for the local farmers.
"We had a flood in 2021, and we got Category D funding really quickly," she said.
On Monday, Mid Coast Mayor Claire Pontin met federal Emergency Management Minister Kristy McBain to present new flood-damage figures and push for the Category D disaster funding.
"The argument is if a one-in-500 year flood doesn't result in a Category D declaration then what does, because we've experienced a huge amount of damage," Councillor Pontin said.
"So many people's lives have been disrupted."
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