ICA urges Australian governments to double Federal funding to AU$200m a year

The council said this will help make the country more resilient against extreme weather.

The Insurance Council of Australia is urging the Australian governments to double the Federal funding to AU$200m ($143.82m) a year to make Australian homes, businesses, and communities more resilient against extreme weather.

ICA released its policy platform for the coming federal election, Building a More Resilient Australia, that calls for all Australian governments to collectively lift funding to AU$2b ($1.44b) over the next five years.

The platform outlines six measures to make at-risk communities and homes more resilient to flood, cyclone and bushfire that are estimated to save governments and households at least AU$19 ($13.66b) by 2050.

The proposed investment program has been developed in consultation with leading actuarial consultancy Finity and includes:

• AU$522m ($375.38m) for local projects such as flood levees to defend regional towns
• AU$413m ($296.99m) to better protect homes against flood, Australia’s most expensive natural peril, by raising utilities and services above the expected flood line
• AU$221m ($158.92m) to cyclone-proof more than 44,000 homes in northern Australia
• AU$712m ($512.01m) to support the selective reduction of fuel in our forests
• AU$37 ($26.61m) for an improved national flood early warning system, estimated to increase the lead time for flood warnings from 3-5 to 10-15 days
• AU$10m ($7.19m) to establish a national coastal hazard information database

ICA chief executive officer, Andrew Hall said the increase in funding is necessary as well as a change in approach to what to build and where to build or the risk of communities exposed to extreme weather will not change.

“In the face of worsening extreme weather the next Australian Government must boost investment in stronger homes and local infrastructure that makes communities safer and more resilient. This means subsidies to improve the resilience of the nation’s homes and businesses to cyclone, flood, and bushfire, as well as funding for projects that protect the community, like levees, floodways, and fuel reduction,” Hall said.

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