[Greens-Media] Greens welcome business disaster preparation plan

[Hetherington, Alison (Sen C. Milne)]

MEDIA RELEASE



Thursday 20 June 2013



Greens welcome business disaster preparation plan



The Greens have welcomed the release of the Business Roundtable paper into Australia's disaster management amid criticisms that the government continues to underspend on disaster risk mitigation.



"The decision of senior business leaders from Westpac, Optus, Munich RE, Investa, and the Insurance Australia Group to seriously engage in the effort to make Australian communities safer marks a significant shift in the climate change debate.



"The government is failing to invest in risk mitigation of natural disasters. One dollar spent on risk mitigation can save at least two dollars in recovery costs yet the government spends only 3% on mitigation of what it spends on post-disaster recovery and reconstruction.



"The business roundtable estimates that targetted resilience and preventative action could halve the money government has to spend on disaster responses.



"We've heard from the Climate Commission this week that the intensity and frequency of extreme weather such as flooding and heat waves is set to increase.



"More than 200 people died over the past four years in disasters such as the Black Saturday bushfires in Victoria, Cyclone Yasi in Queensland and major floods in several states. Hundreds of thousands more were directly affected through injury, illness or loss of property.



"We need to spend more on lessening the impact of natural disasters and better target the spending to projects of state and national significance, which is the approach discussed in the roundtable's white paper.



"The government stopped funding in the last budget for the National Climate Change Adaptation Research Facility which has been providing the critical information needed by decision-makers to manage climate-change risks. This funding should be reinstated so we have the information we need to make better decisions.



"The Greens instigated a Senate inquiry into Australia's preparedness for extreme weather which will report before the election, but has heard from witnesses and submissions that we need to do more combat climate change impacts.



"We support the white paper's recommendations and will add to the debate in the coming months," Senator Milne said.



Media Contact: Georgie Klug 0438 376 082