Noosa Leisure Centre to receive a boost through the National Bushfire Recovery fund

The Noosa Leisure Centre will get a new lease on life with improved functionality as an emergency evacuation centre, with two grants totalling $1.24 million through the Liberals and Nationals Government’s Black Summer Bushfire Recover Program.

Federal Member for Wide Bay and Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives Llew O’Brien today announced the Noosa Shire Council will receive $695,000 to restore the Centre’s plumbing and bathrooms, and to install CCTV equipment.

“Noosa Leisure Centre is the priority evacuation centre in the region, and was used by up to 500 people a day during the 2019-20 bushfires, so this funding will be used to replace and restore worn-out fittings that are nearly 30 years old, and will improve functionality and safety during use as an evacuation centre and also during times of normal use as a community facility,” Mr O’Brien said.

Noosa Mayor Clare Stewart thanked the Federal Government and Member for Wide Bay Llew O’Brien for their commitment to improving the liveability of Noosa.

“This funding provides lasting tangible solutions for our community recovery and ongoing resilience and enhances a key facility in Noosa,” she said.

“The Leisure Centre was the epicentre during the Black Summer bushfires and thanks to this funding, we can improve outdated equipment and create a more pleasant experience for the facility users,” Cr Stewart said.

A new battery system will be installed at the Leisure Centre and the J Noosa through a further $551,594 grant to a collaboration led by University of Southern Queensland (USC).

“The new battery systems will ensure power is maintained during times of natural disaster or emergency, which will make the centre a safer and more accessible environment for people using it as an evacuation point,” Mr O’Brien said.

“The USC joint project will also offer counselling to people affected by the Noosa bushfires during Black Summer, as well as education about bushfire preparedness.”

Mr O’Brien said the project was one of more than 18 projects in Wide Bay among the 524 projects funded under the $390 million Black Summer Bushfire Recovery Grants program.

“The grants will fund a broad range of recovery and resilience projects in Wide Bay, from social and community wellbeing right through to repairing public infrastructure like bridges, and projects that support local jobs and small businesses,” he said.

“We understand that recovery from bushfires takes time, and we will continue to support impacted communities through their recovery from the devastating Black Summer bushfires of 2019-2020.”

Details of the funded projects are available on the National Recovery and Resilience Agency website at: https://recovery.gov.au/programs/black-summer-grants