Premier John Brumby and the Prime Minister at the launch of Rebuilding Together

Schools, sporting clubs, health and early childhood centres, community hubs, major tourist attractions and iconic natural sites destroyed or damaged in the tragic 2009 Victorian bushfires will be rebuilt and restored under a $193 million plan to drive recovery in communities across the state. In Flowerdale, the Prime Minister Kevin Rudd and the Premier John Brumby announced a two-year package to rebuild and reconstruct towns and communities impacted by the worst natural disaster in Australia's history.

Transcript

[Footage of School Captain of Flowerdale Primary School followed by students singing]

Flowerdale Primary School Captain: Ladies and Gentlemen welcome to Flowerdale Primary School. We hope you enjoy your time at our beautiful school.


[Footage of Christine Nixon, Prime Minister Rudd and Premier Brumby at a press conference]

Christine Nixon
Victorian Bushfire Reconstruction and Recovery Authority

Nixon: This is a great opportunity to be in a fantastic town. Flowerdale has been a town we have worked with from the very beginning.

Kevin Rudd
Prime Minister of Australia

Rudd: Launching this plan which reflects of course a statewide plan for bushfire reconstruction and recovery and what you see refected in it is a contribution between the two governments, the Australian Government and the Victorian Government, of $117 million towards the cost of further reconstruction and recovery. And today represents another step, an important step, in that recovery process.

John Brumby
Premier of Victoria

Brumby: The Prime Minister has talked about the very close working relationship between the State Government and the Federal Government and it is true. And I couldnít think of any issue that we have worked on that has been more important, where we have worked together more closely, than this one. This is a great partnership what we are announcing today, Rebuilding Together, this plan for the future. It is a partnership involving, from the grassroots up local communities not top down, from the grassroots up everybody in local communities. So today $193 million.

We are here at Flowerdale so this school, this school will be the site of a $2.2 million investment in new childrens' services, in a new preschool. If I had to think of what this plan brings together firstly, it is about community.

Some people have said 'well could all of this be done, could it have been done quicker?'

We could have easily put things back just they way they were. But that's not what the communities wanted. That wouldn't be the right thing for our State. It wouldn't be the right thing here. We have tried to make these facilities and these communities better. Thatís what this is all about so that we improve the quality, improve the standard, improve the range of community facilities so we have done that.

[Footage of Ben Hardman]
Ben Hardman
Member for Seymour

Hardman: Today's announcement is a really important step in the community having confidence that the Government is very serious about rebuilding their communities. For example in Flowerdale the kindergarten will be rebuilt but not only that it will actually be rebuilt better.

premier.vic.gov.au

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