Andrew Gee (Calare, Independent) Share this | Hansard source

I rise to join the member for Kennedy and, indeed, the member for Blair in wanting to ensure that the cyclone reinsurance pool is effective and delivers meaningful assistance and help when disaster strikes in Queensland, northern Australia and, in particular, North Queensland, which the member for Kennedy is proud to represent.

I am from central western New South Wales, but our area is all too familiar with natural disasters and how hard they hit, often without much warning, leaving enormous devastation and tragedy where homes and, sadly, lives are lost as well. It was only last Friday that my constituents and I paused to remember the two-year anniversary of the 2022 floods, which devastated communities right around our electorate, particularly through the local government area of Cabonne but also in places like Wellington. It was a very sad commemoration, and we had a very poignant service, a small service, to remember the lives lost in Eugowra on that fateful day.

As the member for Blair points out, the House Economics Committee has handed down its report on the inquiry into the insurers' responses to the 2022 major floods. The report is called Flood failure to future fairness, and there was quite a bit of evidence taken during the inquiry stage as to the effectiveness of the cyclone reinsurance pool. The inquiry looked at the views of stakeholders, consumer groups and councils on the feasibility of the reinsurance pool for flood. The Australian Consumers Insurance Lobby proposed the Australian government commission an inquiry into the feasibility of establishing a federal flood reinsurance pool, and Disaster Legal Help Victoria believed that the Australian government should seriously consider government supported reinsurance pools, like the cyclone pool. Indeed, Ballina Shire Council recommended that governments investigate options to provide a reinsurance scheme for areas that the insurance market is no longer able to cover at affordable prices. The Financial Rights Legal Centre, CHOICE, the Consumer Action Law Centre and Westjustice urged the inquiry to consider whether measures such as widespread subsidies or an expanded government reinsurance pool should cover flood as well, and this was echoed by Legal Aid Queensland.

One of the recommendations that the committee made was that the Australian government consider measures to improve the affordability of flood insurance for existing policyholders with high-flood-risk properties, including the appropriateness of a government supported reinsurance arrangement. It's clear that there is strong appetite amongst stakeholders and residents around Australia for reinsurance pools, but, as the member for Kennedy has pointed out, we need to make sure that these pools are effective and that they will deliver the required results.

I commend the member for Kennedy on his interest in this topic. It is of massive interest to his constituents and many in his area, and I think it's vitally important that the pool is effective and it does deliver affordable insurance coverage for affected residents. The member for Kennedy has stated that 50 per cent of households in northern Queensland are either uninsured or underinsured. This is a very concerning statistic that the member of Kennedy has brought to this House. It highlights the need for vigilance, with respect to the reinsurance pool, but also a commitment from the government to make sure that it is operating effectively.

I'm heartened by the words of the member for Blair, who served with me on that committee. He has a very strong interest in the cyclone reinsurance pool. I'm heartened by his words that the government is backing it in and that we will know more results as to its effectiveness very soon. I commend the hardworking member for Kennedy for bringing this important topic to the House, and I also commend the member for Blair not only for his words today but also for his work on the committee and the report which I have discussed earlier in my remarks.

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