Unlocking millions for disaster mitigation a ‘high priority’ for Albanese Government

The Albanese Government wants to unlock millions of dollars for natural disaster mitigation projects. As the flood clean-up continues, see the before and after pictures of the worst hit areas.

Changing the rules around a $4 billion natural disaster fund to get more cash out the door for “long term” flood mitigation projects in NSW is a “high priority” for the federal government.

Natural Disaster and Emergency Management Minister Murray Watt said the government’s plan to unlock $200 million in annual funding for resilience and prevention projects would be a first step to helping communities repeatedly ravaged by floods and other disasters.

Currently the Emergency Response Fund, which was started by the Coalition in 2019, is only authorised to spend a maximum of $50m a year on resilience projects, and a further $150m annually on recovery and clean up.

Speaking exclusively to The Daily Telegraph Mr Watt also said he had noted Premier Dominic Perrottet’s increased support for the Warragamba Dam wall raising in the wake of the latest floods, and confirmed the federal government was interested in the project.

“Our position is that we look forward to working with the NSW Government on that,” he said.

“We’re keen to understand the proposal better.”

Mr Watt said even if the dam project did not go ahead, he was committed to flood prevention infrastructure in the Hawkesbury Nepean.

“The fact that we’ve got a fourth flood in some areas in 18 months shows that we do need to come up with some longer term flood mitigation solutions for that region,” he said.

Federal Minister for Emergency Management Murray Watt, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and NSW Premier Dominic Perrottet meeting volunteers and flood victims in the Hawkesbury. Picture: NCA NewsWire / James Gourley

“Even in other parts of NSW – some of the areas that I was visiting in the Hunter and the Central Coast – have had numerous floods in the last couple of years.

“So I think what that highlights is that the former federal government just didn’t do enough when it came to disaster mitigation. And that’s something that we are intending to fix.”

Mr Watt said once Labor was able to make the necessary legislative changes to the fund, the government would open up applications for states and councils to pitch mitigation projects.

“We want to see that money flowing as quickly as possible,” he said.

Narelle Frost helps clean-up iconic home ‘Bridgeview’ opposite the Windsor Bridge. This is the third time this year it has been inundated, and locals say it is in dire need of heritage listing and funding. Picture: John Grainger

“We’ll obviously have to undertake application processes … and assessments of projects.

“But it’s a much bigger investment in disaster mitigation than we’ve ever seen from a federal government.”

Mr Watt also said mitigation would significantly ease the insurance burden on communities, pointing to examples where flood levies had dramatically brought down premiums for households and businesses.

“Investment in disaster mitigation is a key way of improving access and affordability of insurance,” he said.

Mr Watt said as the flood clean up in NSW continued, disaster payments remained available to households and businesses in impacted local government areas.

“There will be a long and difficult recovery for people,” he said.

“What I’m making clear is that we will continue to stand shoulder to shoulder with flood victims and the NSW Government throughout the recovery process.”

Originally published as Unlocking millions for disaster mitigation a ‘high priority’ for Albanese Government