Dan Repacholi (Hunter, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

We are a country which has some of the most extreme weather conditions in the world, but in the last couple of years Mother Nature has brought weather so extreme that we have experienced natural disasters in numbers that are unprecedented even for us on our harsh Australian continent. We have had weather events of all extremes. In all corners of our country we have seen events from floods to bushfires, from droughts to landslides and we have even seen severe storms bringing massive damage.

My electorate knows the pain of these natural disasters all too well. The small communities around Broke, Wollombi and Singleton were hit by flooding and then, just as they started to recover, they were hit even harder by severe flooding again. This happened just as I was elected as the member for Hunter. Being on the ground with community to experience the impact of this is something that I will never forget. The community of Broke and its surrounds was where most of the damage was done. Many had to evacuate as the river rose, only to return home to find they had lost everything. The community was shattered, but what stood out above everything else was the community spirit. In some of the hardest times in their lives, the whole community banded together to support one another and make sure they all got through it. The response from the community was amazing.

I was proud of our response as a government as well. Things can never be perfect in unprecedented and unexpected times of disaster, but I know that our actions as a government during this time were appreciated by many who I have spoken to. Ministers were straight onto the job, making sure that this community had everything they needed in a quick time frame as well. It was also great to have multiple ministers on the ground with me, speaking to those impacted and understanding, on a more personal level, how they could support this community. But what disappoints me most is the response from the insurance companies. People who had to put in an insurance claim were going through a time which was tough, but too often their experience of and treatment by their insurance company made their situation even harder. People, left with a house unsafe to live in and contents destroyed by floodwaters, were left waiting, sometimes weeks or even months, for an assessor to come and assess the damage for their insurance claim. When these assessments were eventually made, there was no relief for some. Constituents contacted my office to tell me stories of their damage not being assessed properly, and sometimes there were disputes about whether or not their policy covered them for the damage that they received.

Insurance is supposed to provide a sense of assurance. People insure their property and their contents so that if the worst happens they can have some help to rebuild after losing everything, but the insurance companies aren't in that kind of business unfortunately. What we saw in Broke on too many occasions was wealthy insurance companies exploiting loopholes in contracts and policies to get out of covering people who had lost everything, keeping their own pockets full while not only willingly letting others suffer but adding to their suffering and distress. Even to this day, more than a year on from the disaster, I am having Broke residents contact me saying their insurance has become so high they can no longer afford to have a policy. This is a disgrace.

There is also a lot of good in the world. The situation in Broke and the widespread damage was hard to comprehend, but I could not imagine how much worse it would have been if it was not for the amazing work of our emergency services. Our community is ever grateful to these services, such as the Rural Fire Brigade and the SES. It's easy to forget that many of these people, who put themselves to the point of exhaustion risking their own lives to help communities in their time of need, are actually volunteers. It's not a job; it's a passion. It's for their community. I admire every single one of these responders. It was also amazing to see everything that was done through community groups like Rotary and Lions Clubs who were there to give a hand to those impacted.

I know that Minister Watt understands the frustrations expressed by the member for Calare and has raised these with Minister Dib and other officials in the New South Wales government. That is happening, and we're looking forward to a response.

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