In a response to the report from the Bushfire Royal Commission, Australia’s Federal government will create a new agency to provide relief, recovery, and mitigation from future weather events.

The National Recovery and Resilience Agency (NRRA) will be given $600 million to fund projects to bushfire and cyclone-proof houses, and build levees in disaster-prone areas. The money would also be put towards improving telecommunications infrastructure to better withstand disasters.

Two existing recovery agencies will fall under the umbrella of the new government body — the National Drought and North Queensland Flood Response and Recovery Agency (NDNQFRRA), and the National Bushfire Recovery Agency.

Control of the Bushfire Recovery Agency’s $2 billion fund will be handed to the new body.

The long-term recovery efforts in communities affected by recent floods across the east coast and cyclones in Western Australia will also become the responsibility of the NRRA.

NDNQFRRA coordinator-general Shane Stone, a former Northern Territory chief minister and Liberal Party president, will oversee the new agency.

From abc.net.au