Fiona Phillips (Gilmore, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Madam Deputy Speaker, spare a thought for people at Surfside at Batemans Bay who have been living the ultimate and distressing nightmare, over many years, of coastal erosion so bad that it gets the headlines 'Fears Batemans Bay's Surfside could "wash into the sea"' and 'Coastal erosion has South Coast residents fearing they are one bad storm away from beaches disappearing'. While the previous member for Bega liked to talk the talk on this, he delivered little. People were let down by broken promises in the face of what they described as a clear and present danger.

That's why I'm thrilled that our new Disaster Ready Fund, which we proudly legislated and delivered, has delivered the first round of projects to be funded. I couldn't be more thrilled to have joined with the new member for Bega, Dr Michael Holland, to announce $12 million in joint federal and state funding.

I'm pleased to work constructively with Eurobodalla Shire Council to finally get this much-needed funding for disaster mitigation and relief for Surfside residents. I want to thank residents and Eurobodalla Shire Council for advocating for so many years. This is what one constituent said on hearing the news:

Just a quick note to thank you for securing some funding to reduce the erosion on our local beach. It's not often I see government announcements that feel like they will make a fairly direct improvement to my life. So, it makes sense to show gratitude when I do. Best wishes to you both … and for your respective governments.

That's what delivering does.