The Australian Government’s Green Army is set to roll out in communities affected by natural disaster and severe storm damage – carrying out work that will see real improvements to the local environment.
I am pleased to announce that 44 projects under the Natural Disaster Recovery Round have been approved to commence over the next two years.
These projects will tackle recovery efforts across 16 Local Government Areas in New South Wales, Queensland and Victoria.
Projects will assist with vital environmental clean-up and rehabilitation works through re-establishing native vegetation, protecting threatened species and restoring aquatic ecosystems.
In Port Stephens, Green Army teams will be involved in erosion control that will not only restore vegetation to extensively damaged areas, but also build resilience to future natural disaster events.
Flood debris and invasive weeds will be removed from the Kooragang Ramsar wetland in the Hunter Valley in New South Wales which will restore habitat in these sensitive riparian zones.
At Mary River in Queensland, teams will work to reduce sediment and debris entering the catchment through revegetation and embankment rehabilitation.
These are just some examples of the important projects to be undertaken in partnership with groups such as Landcare and local councils that will help to rehabilitate local areas affected by natural disasters while providing young Australians with an opportunity to gain practical skills and training.
The Green Army is a major Government initiative with more than $700 million budgeted over four years. It is already a huge success with over 700 projects announced since it was launched and more that 400 projects already rolled out.
Green Army projects include restoring native vegetation, heritage restoration, protecting animal habitats and regenerating wetlands in urban, rural and remote areas.
A full list of approved Natural Disaster Recovery round projects is available at: www.australia.gov.au/greenarmy
(ENDS)