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

Assistant Treasurer, can you update our region on my calls for a parliamentary inquiry into what has been a cold-hearted and shocking response by insurers to the recent storm and flood disaster in the central west of New South Wales? Will you also support our region receiving the same levels of state and federal disaster assistance which other devastated areas have received and which is currently being denied to our residents, such as the home buyback scheme for Eugowra and Molong and the special disaster grants for farmers in the fire-hit Hill End district? The injustice of this is appalling.

Stephen Jones (Whitlam, Australian Labor Party, Assistant Treasurer) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I'd like to thank the member for Calare for raising this matter in the parliament, in asking the Prime Minister a question about this about a month ago. The Prime Minister and I have discussed it, and I can update the House that this morning I gave notice of a motion in the House which will bring forward an inquiry into the insurance industry, specifically the impact of those floods in your electorate, Member for Calare, together with the impact of the floods in Northern Rivers, New South Wales. I thank the member for Richmond for her engagement and our Brisbane based members, including the member for Moreton for the representations he's made about the impact of the floods in South-East Queensland.

When disaster hits, it's an absolute tragedy. It's a financial tragedy but it's also a social and emotional tragedy. The insurance policies that people take out to protect themselves against the impacts of these tragedies are there to smooth the financial impact, and they should not be adding to the anxiety of the disaster because of the mismanagement of the claims process. The Prime Minister stated when he was asked this question a month ago that he expects insurance companies to act honestly and fairly with claimants. That is the expectation of the government.

I want to thank you, Member for Calare, for inviting me to your electorate. We had meetings with small businesses in Molong. I met with Kayleen and Sarah—I think they run the newsagent and the hairdresser in Molong—who told their personal stories of the devastation wrought by the floods in that town. We went out to Eugowra, and I was very moved. The first shop I walked into was the community centre. I met with Sharon, and she told me, with tears in her eyes, that she'd lost her father in the flood that hit Eugowra. He was washed away, one of two lives lost in that town. I was incredibly moved by that. We met with Brian and Leslie, who are still waiting to have their claims fulfilled. I think it's the Fat Parcel, the pop-up restaurant in town—I guarantee it's not Heart Foundation recommended. I took from that visit that the community had pulled together but they needed more support and they needed the insurance claims honoured and honoured better. So I thank you, Member for Calare, for the engagement.

The inquiry will look into the impact of the floods in those regions, the claims management process, the readiness of insurers to deal with it and the affordability of insurance. You've raised with me the issue of contested hydrography reports, and that's something we should be looking at. We also want to look at mitigation and how households, communities and the government can improve efforts around mitigation as well. Unless we look at all of these issues we won't be resolving the problems around insurance, so thank you.