Statement on NDRRA payments to regional Queensland

Media statement from Keith Pitt MP provided to the NewsMail on Monday, May 16, 2016 in response to questions about Natural Disaster Relief and Recover Arrangements payments to regional Queensland:

Any claims that recovery money has been ripped away from Queensland are completely untrue.

Since 2011, $7.9 billion has been provided to Queensland by the Commonwealth to assist in recovery from its natural disasters.

The NDRRA recovery money is still budgeted for; the Commonwealth has placed the funds over the next two financial years to ensure the funds are still available to Queensland – but we need to ensure the claims are eligible before they can be reimbursed.

Queensland’s own Audit Office found that over $115 million ineligible claims were paid against the Queensland Governments 2009-2012 NDRRA claims.