The Insurance Council of Australia (ICA), Master Builders Australia (MBA), and Planning Institute Australia (PIA) – supported by the Australian Local Government Association (ALGA) – have teamed up to call for changing the approach to land-use planning.
In the inaugural National Industry Roundtable: Land Use Planning and Resilience, around 60 experts from financial services, property, communities, and governments called on state and territory governments to rethink planning rules and target greater resilience.
“[The] roundtable set out the actions governments must take to ensure future financial losses to homeowners, businesses, and the community are avoided, and better government planning and investment is taken seriously,” said ICA CEO Andrew Hall.
Held on July 27, the roundtable aimed to call against building homes in areas with unsuitable environments and make homes more resilient to extreme weather events. It coincided with a meeting of state and federal planning ministers on land-use planning.
Attendees agreed that population pressures and inadequate planning laws will result in further development of flood-prone lands – putting people at risk, costing taxpayers billions of dollars, and driving up insurance premiums.
“The flood events of 2022, with almost 300,000 disaster-related claims costing around $7 billion, has driven up premiums and has resulted in affordability constraints for those at highest risk,” Hall said. “Without insurance, homeowners likely can't access a mortgage, and that is the wrong direction for our country.”
MBA CEO Denita Wawn urged governments to take a balance approach to housing development and resist building out with alternative considerations, including building up to take the pressure off the housing system.
“With a housing crisis at the forefront for many communities and a growing population, we must ensure that our planning laws are fit for the future and take an appropriate risk-management approach,” Wawn said. “Without fit-for-purpose planning laws, technical building regulation will always fail. The housing industry needs clear and concise rules that allow the industry to function and the community to have confidence.”
PIA CEO Matt Collins said: “Planning is a critical tool for influencing the level of future disaster risk, and our changing climate means we need to act now to limit the impact of extreme weather on our communities. By adopting new risk-based policies and investing in better mapping and data, we can ensure development avoids or minimises exposure to flood hazards.”
Councillor Linda Scott, president of ALGA, said: “It's crucial we rebuild damaged local infrastructure to a more resilient standard. Councils will continue to strongly advocate for ‘building back better’ to be a core value and overriding principle of joint state/federal Disaster Recovery Funding Arrangements.”
