Minister’s opening statement
The Albanese Government is committed to improving the country’s disaster preparedness, response and resilience capability, and we’ve been taking major steps to achieve this since coming to office.
As many of you would be aware, Australia is currently in the midst of the 2023-24 high risk weather season. Traditionally, October to April is the peak time for natural disasters, though, as we’ve seen in the past, this doesn’t mean we don’t see major events in other parts of the year and we must remain prepared.
I’m thinking particularly of many parts of our home state, Chair – Queensland – that have gone through a lot lately. But I noticed that tomorrow we’re expecting catastrophic fire conditions in some parts of Victoria. So it’s a reminder that the season is far from over.
I do want to acknowledge the ongoing efforts of the National Emergency Management Agency. The Coordinator-General Brendan Moon, Deputy Coordinator-Generals Jill Charker and Joe Buffone and their staff have worked tirelessly, particularly over the summer, as we responded to tropical cyclones, floods, storms, heat waves, and bushfires across large parts of the country.
In many of these events, through NEMA, we also provided planning support, as well as response and recovery personnel and resources.
NEMA is still a young department, having merged Emergency Management Australia and the National Recovery and Resilience Agency in September 2022 to create a single, enduring end to end agency.
And I congratulate NEMA on the significant work they’ve undertaken in that time to provide national leadership and support response efforts.
I, of course, also recognise and thank the efforts of a number of organisations who’ve gone above and beyond since this committee last met. This includes not-for-profit and volunteer personnel, the Australian Defence Force and other Commonwealth agencies, and State and Territory governments and agencies.
Natural disasters have impacted seven out of eight Australian states and territories in the past year and a half alone.
More than half of Australian Local Government Areas have experienced a natural disaster since July 2022, many more than once.
In that time, the Albanese Government has financially supported 73 natural disaster response efforts.
Together with State and Territory Governments, the Albanese Government costs shares a range of help for councils, including road repairs and cleanup efforts.
In many cases we’ve also provided grants or payments for individuals, small businesses, primary producers, non-profits, and sporting clubs.
All up, our Government has Also cost shared over $2.6 billion in extraordinary bespoke support for eleven of the most severe events in the last 18 months or so.
We’ve also provided $166 million directly into the bank accounts of Australians impacted by major disasters through the Australian Government Disaster Recovery Payment and Allowance.
A benchmark of our Government is that we don’t turn our back after a disaster. We continue to work with lead agencies in the months and years after a disaster to advocate for, and get the best results possible for locals.
With the intensity and frequency of natural disasters only set to increase due to a changing climate, we’ve commissioned a number of reviews into funding and governance arrangements, as well as resourcing arrangements, so that we can implement long-term fit-for-purpose plans.
And I note the discussion paper into the future of Commonwealth disaster capability has released its public submissions today to look at how we resource disasters from a national perspective in the years to come.
The Albanese Government is shifting the dial to preparedness, rather than just response, with more investment in disaster mitigation and resilience through the Disaster Ready fund, building a National Emergency Management Stockpile and risk reduction programs.
In the interest of time, I’ll just table the remainder of my statement, but I look forward to your questions.
