Disaster Relief Funding

The tornado which destroyed St Patrick’s Cathedral was so destructive across the community that the State Government immediately declared the site a natural disaster area in its wake. Both State and Commonwealth budgets provide for the allocation of assistance to organisations, including churches, affected by natural disasters.

Naturally, a compelling case needed to be presented to illustrate the need for such assistance and satisfy the scrutiny of government officials. The application to the Prime Minister took almost twelve months to be approved.

Both the State and Commonwealth Governments recognise the role of Cathedrals in the life of the community, and acknowledge that they are intrinsically woven into the fabric of society. Accordingly, both governments have made disaster relief grants to the diocese. The State Government grant was $2.5 million, and the Commonwealth grant was $5 million. Both grants are for rebuilding the Cathedral Precinct, including the earthworks needed for car parking. Both grants attracted bipartisan support because of the merits of our case.

While the amounts of natural disaster relief received are large, they must be seen in the context of Western Australia’s rapidly escalating building costs. The option of building the new Cathedral elsewhere in Bunbury, where development costs may have been lower, was considered briefly but dropped because of community sentiment in favour of rebuilding on the existing location.