Gold Coast Mayor Tom Tate has accused the Queensland government of being “un-Australian” for withholding disaster-recovery funds intended to repair the city’s cyclone-damaged beaches.
Tate said the council has yet to receive any financial support from a $169 million recovery package, jointly funded by the state and federal governments, despite the city already spending $39 million on beach restoration since Tropical Cyclone Alfred struck in March.
According to Tate, the federal government released its share of the funds in July, but the state government has not yet passed the money on.
“The good part is the federal government has released money to the state government quite some time ago,” Tate said. “But the sad part is the state government is sitting on the money, and we haven’t got it. I don’t understand the red tape there.”
The mayor warned that delays in funding are hampering recovery efforts along the Gold Coast’s eroded shoreline.
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