29/07/2026
When Tropical Cyclone Kirrily cut Ballaleah Road on Mornington Island in 2024, families were shut off from outstations, Country and each other.
Thanks to Disaster Recovery Funding – a Federal and State government funding partnership that contributes an average 65:35 funding split towards disaster recovery costs, council rebuilt it.
But under the Federal Government’s proposed reforms, which changes the funding split to 50:50, councils will potentially be required to find up to 15% of total recovery costs.
Under these proposed reforms, Mornington Shire alone would have had to have found almost $1 million to support the delivery of the $6.24 million of total disaster recovery work just for the 2024-25 disaster season alone.
For Aboriginal Shire councils, like Mornington Shire, who have no rate base to draw from and are 100% funded by the Federal and State governments to deliver essential services for their communities, this proposed funding gap is not achievable.
"A 15% funding gap is a wall for a council with no rate base. There is nowhere for that money to come from, unless we cut services that our remote community relies upon – including housing and support to allied health services." Mayor Richard Sewter
The Federal Government collects 80% of total national taxation revenue, compared with 16% for the State and 3% for local government. Shifting more disaster recovery cost onto the level of government with the least capacity to raise it will deepen the risk for remote communities like Mornington Island.
NWQROC is calling on the Federal Government to scrap the proposed 50:50 funding model and retain a funding split that reflects the real cost of disaster recovery in remote Australia and their capacity to pay.
Read the full statement: www.nwqroc.com.au/news/mornington-island-faces-multi-million-dollar-shortfall-under-federal-disaster-funding-cutback
