FRRR and Suncorp Group have awarded $216,269 in grants to 12 community projects that will support the ongoing resilience building and recovery efforts of remote, rural and regional Queensland communities impacted by Cyclones Jasper and Kirrily. 

It has been almost 10 months since Cyclone Jasper crossed the Far North coast (13 December 2023) causing widespread destruction and nine months since Cyclone Kirrily crossed the North Queensland coast (25 January 2024) and became a state-wide disaster event, as the rain moved south and west causing major flooding (3 February 2024). 

Funded through the Rebuilding Futures program, the 12 grants will enable local not-for-profit organisations (NFPs) to invest in community infrastructure and equipment, strengthen organisational capacity and provide improved access to services and activities. 

Nina O’Brien, FRRR’s Disaster Resilience & Recovery Lead, said that the timing of these grants is critical as many regional communities are wanting to be proactive and take action to prepare for the upcoming wet season and hopefully mitigate impacts.  

“While the weather cannot be prevented, the impact of disasters can be lessened through good planning.”  

“For some Queensland community groups, like the Cape York Folk Club, Juunjuwarra Aboriginal Corporation and Mt Garnet Golf Club, those practical activities include cyclone-proofing facilities and upgrading infrastructure to withstand the damage of potential extreme weather events,” added O’Brien. 

According to O’Brien, in other places, there is an acceptance that cyclones and excessive rainfall are a part of life, so the focus is on using lessons learnt from recent events. 

“For Surf Life Saving Queensland’s North Barrier and North Queensland Branches, this means building capacity with volunteer training and flood rescue equipment to support and prepare them to respond to their community in future disasters.”  

“While Hinchinbrook Community Support Centre and Bloomfield River District Residents Association are finding practical ways to prepare local infrastructure to be sustainable and fit for purpose during a disaster,” she added.  

“We recognise the diverse recovery and preparedness needs of communities. These needs include social connectedness and wellbeing, and access to timely information in the next disaster.” 

“In this round of applications, we also saw remote communities and groups looking to join forces to better support their regions’ recovery.” 

These collaborative projects, such as Jabalbina Yalanji Aboriginal Corporation RNTBC’s Kuku Bakal Kaykayanda (Giving Words to all the Children) initiative, illustrate the varying stages of recovery that communities are at, and the challenges that remote NFPs face when supporting people through the recovery journey. 

“All of the funded projects are a great demonstration of the on-the-ground resilience and preparedness mindset of regional Queensland, with communities seeking to ‘build back better’ so that they can sustain their way of life and recover effectively from disaster experiences,” O’Brien explained. 

Lisa Harrison, Suncorp Chief Executive of Consumer Insurance, said these grants would support community-led recovery projects for regional Queensland communities impacted by severe weather events. 

“We are proud to be able to help these communities get back on their feet and recover from Tropical Cyclones Kirrily and Jasper,” said Harrison. 

“Recovery from an extreme weather event, like a cyclone or flooding, takes time, and this round of grants from FRRR and Suncorp demonstrates that each community’s journey is different.” 

Harrison added that given that it is less than a year since Cyclone Jasper and Cyclone Kirrily reached the Queensland coast, it is understandable that groups are focused on responding to the needs of locals, based on their community’s recovery, preparedness and prevention priorities.” 

To date, the Rebuilding Futures program has distributed more than $1.2 million to 74 community NFPs across the country.