The Palaszczuk government has committed $38m to strengthen Queensland's resilience to natural disasters – a move welcomed by Australia's peak insurance body.
The $38m Disaster Resilience Fund would support local governments, state agencies, and non-government organisations with disaster mitigation projects, Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk said in a statement.
“Queensland is the most disaster-impacted state in Australia, with $14bn in damage to public infrastructure caused by more than 60 natural disasters over the past nine years,” Palaszczuk said. “Upfront investment doesn’t just protect regional communities, it saves all Queensland communities in the long run. We know that the best way to rebuild after a natural disaster is to make things better than they were before.”
Campbell Fuller, general manager for communications at ICA, said the commitment of $38m over four years is “a positive step towards protecting Queensland communities from extreme weather.”
“Each year the insurance industry pays out hundreds of millions of dollars in insurance claims,” Fuller said. “The Insurance Council has consistently argued that the imbalance between the money spent on disaster recovery compared with the funding for disaster mitigation is a longstanding policy failure in Australia.”
The industry body noted that the Productivity Commission has proposed a $200m federal funding each year, with the same amount to be matched by state governments.
“Substantial investment by all levels of government, working collaboratively on disaster resilience and mitigation programs, would significantly help communities strengthen their ability to withstand natural disasters,” Fuller said. “The benefits of investing in mitigation are manifold, including improved community safety, economic stability, and lower insurance premiums.”
Fuller said that unless governments committed substantial funding to boost resilience, hundreds of communities across the country would remain vulnerable to the destructive impact of weather events.
