THE Tamworth and Liverpool Plains floods have been declared natural disasters, as water recedes and the true extent of the damage and destruction begins to rear its ugly head.
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On Wednesday, the Commonwealth Government extended its natural disaster declaration to 18 additional local government areas including Tamworth, Glen Innes and Liverpool Plains.
The Gunnedah and Narrabri floods were declared natural disasters last week, after NSW Farmers president James Jackson, called on the state and federal government to step in.
The declaration unlocks disaster assistance for local councils, residents, primary producers, small businesses, and charities through the Commonwealth-State Disaster Recovery Funding Arrangements.
Deputy Prime Minister and New England MP Barnaby Joyce said while Walcha isn't on the list, he expects it to be added soon.
"We're in the process of checking with their general manager about where their application is up to," he told the Leader.
"I've never seen floods like this, it's incredible. This would be a bad flood on its own, but it's a bad flood on the back of places being absolutely saturated.
"It's shutting down everything from cattle movements, to breaking down roads, to knocking over fences - which I've had to deal with myself.
"You can't get stock to market, you can't get crops off, it's having real implications."
From his Canberra office, Mr Joyce said "the best way for me to help them right now is doing the work of getting these approvals through".
"If you can show a direct relationship to a disaster and personal loss in your house then there's an immediate cash payment, but that's more for Gunnedah," he said.
"Tamworth hasn't had the inundation into houses like they've had around Gunnedah."
The declaration will help local councils foot the bill for roads, infrastructure and other public assets, which is expected to be millions of dollars.
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Liverpool Plains mayor Doug Hawkins said council is now assessing more than 40 roads, which have been decimated in the worst flooding since the 70s.
"They're now about 60 per cent of the way through their assessments," he said.
Of the roads surveyed, so far in the Liverpool Plains, more than 40 per cent of have been affected.
"It will set us back a bit because our infrastructure has been damaged a fair whack, we've just got to work away at it and get a back on top of it," Cr Hawkins added.
"It's really extensive damage, a lot of the road work that we've done recently has been damaged. A lot of the infrastructure has been damaged.
"We've had staff out on the road trying to get roads opened as quick as possible but then everybody's safety is at risk, so how do you get around that?"
Tamworth Regional Council infrastructure and works manager Murray Russell expects council to foot a repair bill in excess of $1 million.
"There has been some significant damage on some of our rural roads, culverts and causeways," he said.
"Repairs are already being done to ensure access where roads have been cut off and the more significant structures may take several months to be repaired back to their original condition."
To apply for a concessional loan or grant, contact the NSW Rural Assistance Authority on 1800 678 593 or visit www.raa.nsw.gov.au
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