A potential storm is brewing between the Federal and State Governments over a proposal to dramatically slash Commonwealth disaster recovery funding.
A draft proposal by the productivity commission that would slash federal funding by a third in the wake of natural disasters would be catastrophic for Queensland councils, local government and community recovery minister David Crisafulli said on Friday morning.
Joined by a number of Southeast Queensland mayors prior to public hearings conducted in Brisbane on Friday morning, Mr Crisafulli said many councils would not be able to fund recovery if the proposal to reduce the Federal contribution from its current 75 per cent contribution to 50 per cent went ahead.
He said it would result in replacement projects for vital infrastructure in flood, fire or storm hit areas either not going ahead or going ahead at a significant cost burden to ratepayers.
"Many of the recommendations, quite frankly, are absolutely revolting and if they were implemented, it would spell disaster for Queensland," he said.
"We are calling on the Federal Government, the elected officials, to show the leadership they want to see and get many of these recommendations and kick them into touch because it would spell disaster for Queensland."
Mr Crisafulli said, had the proposed funding model been in place in the last five years, state and local governments would have had to contribute $5 billion to disaster recovery funding.
Bundaberg Regional Council mayor Mal Foreman, whose council was hit by floods in 2011 and 2013, said his ratepayers would not have the capacity to fund reconstruction projects under the proposed model.
"Some of that infrastructure would never get repaired, it would take multiple budgets to try to come up with a system of revenue to do that," he said.
"We do depend on the Federal Government to do the heavy lifting.
"I went through my figures for Bundaberg and we would have to raise our rates at $7.6million extra, or 13.9 per cent a year.
"That is about $300 to $400 more and they cannot even afford what we are doing now."
Redland City Council mayor Karen Williams said local government were not asking for handouts, but a "leg-up in bad times".
She said her council's $1.8 million recovery for the North Stradbroke Island fires at the beginning of the year would not qualify for federal funding under the new proposal.
"To think this could be passed on to ratepayers, I think people would be shaking their heads, there is no more capacity to pay," she said.
"Our communities always dig deep, to hit them again with a levy is not fair for local government, especially when they are overcoming a natural disaster."
Brisbane Acting Lord Mayor Adrian Schrinner said the recovery bill for the city following the 2011 flood disaster reached $100 million.
He said the proposal would be "diabolical" for local governments.
"The capacity to pay is just not there, the current funding model needs to be retained, it is essential not only for Brisbane but all councils across Queensland," he said.
"This is about a fair go for people and councils struggling through natural disasters, which are a fact of life.
"Through bushfires, floods, storm damage, people deserve a fair go and councils deserve support from federal coffers."
