Betterment invests in safety and stability for Cape York communities

Essential infrastructure will be strengthened across the Cape York Peninsula, with new Betterment projects slated for three Indigenous communities.

Jointly funded by the Australian and Queensland governments, the investments will help safeguard essential services, reduce isolation during disasters, and deliver long-term resilience for the communities of Coen, Mapoon, and Kowanyama. 

In the east, a new cold storage facility for Coen in Cook Shire will provide council with substantial dry and cold storage space when they are cut off by floods and reduce the reliance on costly air resupply. 

On the western Cape, the community of Kowanyama will benefit from drainage and pavement upgrades throughout the township to improve waterflow and reduce flooding along local streets. 

North of Weipa, Mapoon’s water treatment plant will be upgraded to protect it against coastal erosion and other severe weather threats, guaranteeing year-round local water security. 

Collectively, the projects represent a long-term investment in the safety and stability of the region providing residents of the remote communities with critical infrastructure that can be relied on in all conditions.

Cape York communities are among Queensland’s most vulnerable and the projects are aimed at future-proofing the towns and improving the quality of life for those who live there. 

Funding for the projects is part of a record Betterment resilience investment, delivered under the $450 million Queensland Resilience and Risk Reduction Program (QRRRP), to strengthen the disaster resilience of regional Queensland.

The QRRRP is funded through efficiencies realised under the joint Commonwealth-State Disaster Recovery Funding Arrangements (DRFA).