Tasmania will receive $15 million to invest in projects aimed at protecting the state’s World Heritage wilderness areas from bushfires and mitigating flood risks in Central Highlands communities.
Funds from the Federal Government’s Disaster Ready Fund will also support initiatives to safeguard water treatment plants from blackouts, enhance understanding of active landslides and investigate possible erosion along the West Coast Wilderness Railway.
Premier Jeremy Rockliff said the 17 projects would help communities across Tasmania become better equipped to respond to future disasters.
“From early detection cameras to upgrading energy infrastructure, the diverse range of projects will help the community be more resilient to disasters like bushfires, storms, landslides and coastal hazards,” he said.
“Together with local governments, community organisations and others we are collectively investing more than $8 million into these important projects.”
One of the successful projects is a remote area early fire detection camera network, which will be installed to monitor remote areas of the state and assist with the rapid identification of ignitions.
This will enable quicker response times and help prevent small fires from escalating into larger, uncontrollable blazes that can threaten lives, property and the environment.
“These projects will build on previous actions taken to make Tasmania more resilient to disasters while also preparing for more frequent and severe weather events,” Rockliff said.
