Council welcomes $1m drought assistance commitment

Published on 28 April 2019

Mildura Mayor Simon Clemence has welcomed the Federal Government's commitment to extend the Drought Communities Program (DCP) to include Mildura Rural City Council.

The DCP provides $1 million to Councils, enabling them to undertake infrastructure upgrades to help stimulate employment for people whose work opportunities have been impacted by the drought.

Cr Clemence said that as part of the program, Council would have the flexibility to determine how to best utilise the funds.

"This is $1 million that will go directly to Council for drought relief,"  he said.

"The way that money is used is up to Council, so we're able to determine the initiatives we believe will provide most benefit - not just to farmers, but farming communities including towns throughout the Millewa and Mallee.

"We'll certainly be looking at what we can do to use that money wisely to improve the outlook for our farmers and for our farming communities."

Cr Clemence said the announcement has come at a critical time.

"We know many of our farmers are doing it hard at the moment as the drought continues to drag on," he said.

"This $1 million will provide us with additional options to help our farmers through this difficult time."