'Penny drops on mitigation', but ICA pushes for further funding
‘Penny drops on mitigation’, but ICA pushes for further funding
1 September 2022
The Insurance Council of Australia (ICA) says “the penny has dropped” on disaster mitigation, but says further government funding is still needed.
“In February this year, before the floods, [ICA] launched a national campaign calling for increased government investment in resilience and mitigation,” CEO Andrew Hall said today.
“The scale and devastating impact of the floods absolutely underscored that we can’t stop the weather but we can lessen the impact – and that’s exactly what the right resilience and mitigation can do.
“Since that time, the penny has dropped and resilience and mitigation that better protects Australians is getting the attention, if not all the funding, it deserves.
“This critical issue is a matter of policy and not parties and we all need to work together to find right solutions. A great example of this was last week’s shared announcement for $75 million Commonwealth investment in flood mitigation in NSW.”
The Federal Government last week said it will invest $75 million in flood mitigation and infrastructure resilience projects for NSW.
The program, supported by the Government’s Emergency Response fund, will be directed across 62 local government areas affected by floods in February and March.
The fund will provide $40 million in grants to councils and government agencies for flood mitigation programs, including home-raising projects. A further $15 million will be invested in establishing and improving flood warning systems.
“Too often disaster support is provided after a major disaster, rather than being invested earlier to keep communities safer,” Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said.
“This funding, provided by the Commonwealth and driven by the State Government will ensure mitigation projects in NSW are identified and supported”.
NSW Premier Dominic Perrottet says the support will be “crucial” to “deliver funding where it is needed most.”
