The Gillard Government will provide $46,000 to the Ipswich SES for the purchase of a sand bag filling machine.
This new machine will help the community fill bags quicker and prepare more effectively for future incidents of flooding.
The Prime Minister, Minister Assisting on Queensland Floods Recovery Senator Joe Ludwig and Member for Blair Shayne Neumann joined with the Ipswich SES today to announce the funding for this new equipment, which is designed to help protect the community from future floods.
During January 2011, Ipswich experienced the worst flooding in nearly forty years.
The efforts of the Ipswich SES personnel and emergency management volunteers to save the community during these unprecedented floods cannot be understated.
Over this devastating period, the SES hand-filled more than 11,000 sandbags in order to save homes and businesses.
This new machine will enable one person to produce more than 300 bags of sand per hour, freeing up resources to be on the front line when a flood occurs.
It will also minimise occupational health and safety risks to SES personnel and emergency management volunteers packing the bags.
The machine will also support the emergency management efforts of neighbouring communities such as the Lockyer Valley and Somerset.