Mega agency to lead nation’s disaster response

More than half a billion dollars will be given to a new agency to help communities recover and rebuild in the aftermath of serious events.

Major disaster response and mitigation will soon be managed under a new mega agency in a bid to improve Australia’s response to weather events such as the devastating Black Summer fires.

Scott Morrison will on Wednesday announce an initial $600m pool of cash for the agency to fund “resilience projects”, including bushfire proofing homes, building levees and improving telecommunications in the regions.

The National Recovery and Resilience Agency will provide initial support in communities in the immediate aftermath and recovery following serious events while allowing state-run agencies to provide direct support as crises unfold.

It will also come up with ideas and advise the government on how to mitigate and minimise the risk of natural disasters, including those relating to climate change.

The Prime Minister said resilience building would be the initial focus for the agency after a particularly challenging two years.

State-run agencies will still provide direct support as crises unfold.

“The new agency will help communities rebuild and recover from natural disasters, helping many Australians in their greatest time of need while strengthening our defences against future major disasters,” Mr Morrison said.

“In the past two years Australians have faced floods, bushfires, cyclones, drought and now the COVID-19 pandemic and I’m determined to keep Australians safe and support the recovery of communities and regions right across Australia.”

The agency will be headed up by co-ordinator-general Shane Stone who chairs several national recovery advisory boards.

The National Bushfire Recovery Agency and its $2bn fund, as well as the National Drought and North Queensland Flood Response and Recovery Agency, will also fall under the mega entity.

Scott Morrison will says the initial $600m pool of cash for the agency will fund “resilience projects”.

From July, the agency will also take over risk reduction, recovery and rural financial counselling services from other government agencies to streamline service provision.

The commonwealth will also establish an Australian Climate Service to inform climate policy and better understand the changing natural disaster risks.

Environment Minister Sussan Ley said the collaboration between the Bureau of Meteorology, the CSIRO, ABS and Geoscience Australia would deliver “rich insights”.

“We do face more extreme weather events due to changing climate and this is about being prepared, and being able to take steps to make our communities more resilient,” Ms Ley said.

A further $4.5m will be provided to train regional communities for high-risk hazards.

Emergency Management Minister David Littleproud said two “Resilience Hubs” pilot programs would also be funded, to co-ordinate training across all levels of government for natural disaster response.