The federal and New South Wales (NSW) governments have introduced an $800 million flood resilience package to make homes in the Northern Rivers more resilient to floods.
The $800 million Resilient Homes Program is the response of the federal and NSW governments to the February-March floods that devastated southeast Queensland and coastal NSW, particularly the Northern Rivers region. The event was Australia's costliest flood and third-costliest natural disaster.
The package provides:
The Insurance Council of Australia (ICA), which has been campaigning for increased investment in extreme weather resilience, said the catastrophic floods caused $5.56 billion in insured losses from more than 236,000 claims, with around half of the losses coming from NSW.
ICA CEO Andrew Hall said the Resilient Homes Program is a necessary investment to better protect communities at most risk of flood.
“[The program] demonstrates that both the federal and New South Wales governments understand the scale and complexity of the policy solutions required to begin to address this worsening threat,” Hall said. “We understand that making a decision to sell a beloved home is [a] very difficult one, but we strongly encourage all those eligible for the buyback element of the program to take up the offer and relocate somewhere safer and more sustainable.
“For insurers to continue to provide cover at an affordable price and for property and lives to be protected, not only is action required to strengthen the resilience of existing homes and communities, but we must shift our approach to what we build and where we build it.”
IAG vowed to continue supporting governments in all levels with identifying options to protect the Northern Rivers community from the devastating impacts of floods.
“The flooding we've seen in the region this year has been devastating, and it's critical we do everything we can to protect people now and into the future,” said IAG managing director and CEO Nick Hawkins. “IAG looks forward to working with the federal and NSW governments to ensure that the implementation of this program substantially reduces flood risk in the Northern Rivers.”
Suncorp, which recently partnered with the Queensland government to make homes more resilient, has also welcomed the NSW flood resilience package.
“We all have a critical role to play when it comes to being better prepared for and protected against severe weather, and it's good to see progress being made on this front,” said Suncorp Group CEO Steve Johnston. “More funding for disaster readiness is vital and must continue to focus on communities where there is a high risk of extreme weather. Suncorp will continue to advocate strongly for this as part of our four-point plan for a more resilient Australia.”
