The Australian Greens (Greens) has called on the federal government to help Australians in flood-prone areas for their homes to be raised.
In its recently released flood adaptation scheme, Greens suggested a $7.8 billion plan to help homeowners in flood-prone areas raise their homes using a $20,000 grant. The party also wants to use the scheme to further support homeowners in southeast Queensland and the New South Wales (NSW) Northern Rivers who had been hit by multiple floods over the recent months, including the February-March 2022 flood deemed Australia's costliest flood ever.
“People have been devastated again this year by flooding, and that is going to happen more and more often into the future with climate change,” said Elizabeth Watson-Brown, the Greens candidate for Ryan and a practising architect, as reported by The Guardian. “It is serious; it is here, and it's in lots of people's backyards.”
Luke Macdonald, director of Brisbane House Raising and Restumping, which raises houses, said he received an influx of phone calls from people in Lismore and Murwillumbah seeking quotes, but he is only licensed to operate in Queensland.
The Insurance Council of Australia (ICA) has been calling on Australian governments to double Federal funding to make the country more resilient to extreme weather.
These calls intensified during the catastrophic flooding in Queensland and NSW, which cost the Australian insurance industry nearly AU$4,000 million, according to PERILS's initial estimate. Meanwhile, Climate Council said it expects one in 25 Australian homes to be uninsured by as early as 2030.
