The insurance industry has expressed support for the federal opposition’s plan to overhaul Australia’s $4.7 billion emergency response fund.
Opposition leader Anthony Albanese recently said that a Labor government would commit $200 million a year towards disaster prevention.
“We will have a plan for disaster readiness,” Albanese said. “And we're announcing that today, investing up to $200 million each and every year on disaster prevention and resilient.”
The pledged was welcomed by the Insurance Council of Australia, which called Labor’s “Prevent, Prepare, Rebuild” plan a “a crucial change in the face of worsening extreme weather.”
“The Insurance Council has long been calling for the level of investment in resilience measures to be increased, and we warmly welcome today’s announcement by Federal Labor,” said Andrew Hall, chief executive officer of Insurance Council of Australia. “Regardless of the outcome of this year’s election, the next Australian government needs to invest in stronger homes and infrastructure that makes communities more resilient in the face of worsening extreme weather.”
Meanwhile, Nick Hawkins, managing director and CEO of insurance giant IAG, said that Labor’s plan is “a positive step forward for the nation.”
“Over many years we’ve highlighted the importance of greater investment in mitigation initiatives to help protect communities before disasters strike and we welcome Labor’s commitment to establish a fund dedicated to help achieve this,” Hawkins said. “Not only does investment in mitigation have the benefit of helping to protect lives, homes, businesses, and critical infrastructure, it helps to reduce the extensive cost of recovering from these disasters.”
