Last month, the Queensland government said it will introduce a $741 million Resilient Residential Recovery Package to better protect Australians from extreme weather events. However, it asked the federal government to fund half of the package, with the request initially rejected, but quickly overturned, leaving Queenslanders and the insurance industry satisfied.
Suncorp CEO Steve Johnston said Queensland's resilience funding should become a template for similar action in other states and territories.
“Across Australia, we spend far too much on mopping up after disasters and not enough on preparing for them. This investment starts the process of correcting that imbalance,” he said. “This is not about finger-pointing or politics – all levels of government must contribute, and we all need to work together.”
Suncorp has been calling for ongoing multi-year investment in measures to protect households and communities from the impacts of extreme weather events and address underinsurance for several years. Its four-point plan includes:
The insurance giant also helped customers and communities affected by the catastrophic flooding in Queensland and New South Wales (NSW), including recruiting 600 new employees across the country to accelerate the recovery process.
Suncorp's comments follow the statements of the Insurance Council of Australia (ICA) and the Royal Automobile Club of Queensland (RACQ) on the federal government's reversal of its Queensland resilience funding decision.
