Nine NT crash sites selected for Black Spot program fixes

Nine notorious accident sites on Northern Territory roads will be made safer with new funding from the Commonwealth’s Black Spot Program.

The NT government will receive more than $1.7 million under the program’s 2021-22 funding round, with councils contributing a further $1.4 million to the successful projects.

The locations chosen for upgrades have seen a total of 36 crashes causing injuries over the past five years

Click here for more information on the Black Spot Program, or to nominate a black spot.

In more federal funding news, the closing date for the $280 million Black Summer Bushfire Recovery (BSBR) Grants program has been extended to 6 October 2021.

The new date provides almost five extra weeks for communities impacted by the 2019-20 Black Summer bushfires, to lodge their submissions for recovery grants.

Black Summer Bushfire Recovery grants are available in every Local Government Area that was disaster declared as a result of the bushfires.

Click here for more information on the assistance that is available, including workshops.

The second round of the Commonwealth’s Murray–Darling Healthy Rivers Program is now open for grant applications.

The latest round will include a stream for large grants of between $100,000 and $2 million, in addition to a small grants stream for projects valued at $5000 to $100,000.

Projects such as planting native seedlings along riverbanks to reduce erosion and provide habitat for native birds and animals, to controlling invasive species which threaten native species and farmers will be eligible for the small grants stream.

Projects which have catchment-scale benefits, or higher value localised projects, such as installing fish ladders and culverts to allow native fish to travel the entire river will be eligible for large grants.

The Healthy Rivers Program is a key part of the federal government’s Murray-Darling Communities Investment Package.

Disaster assistance has been extended to rain and flood-affected communities in the Shires of Upper Gascoyne and Murchison to enable recovery.

The two local government areas were inundated with between 40 and 60mm of rain over 29-30 May, with subsequent flooding in the Gascoyne River isolating some communities.

The assistance is being provided through the jointly funded Commonwealth-State Disaster Recovery Funding Arrangements.

Disaster assistance has also been made available in the northern NSW local government areas of Glen Innes Severn and Inverell Shires after severe storms and flooding in July which caused widespread damage, including to local roads and residential properties.

News arts grants provided by federal and state governments during the continuing pandemic have opened for applications.

There are 11 investment and development opportunities currently open for applications, including from organisations that undertake arts programs, projects or that provide services to artists.

The Australia Council for the Arts website has more information on Covid assistance for the arts.