Concetta Fierravanti-Wells (NSW, Liberal Party, Minister for International Development and the Pacific) Share this | Hansard source

I thank Senator Duniam for the question. The government is focused on building climate and disaster resilience in our immediate neighbourhood because this is important to our objective of a strong and stable Indo-Pacific area. Seven out of 10 of the most disaster-prone countries are in the Asia-Pacific region. At the Paris UN climate change conference, Prime Minister Turnbull announced that at least $1 billion of overseas development assistance will be spent on climate resilience over the five years starting this year. At the Pacific Island Forum leaders' meeting in September, Mr Turnbull announced we would increase resilience expenditure to $300 million from 2016 to 2020, leveraging climate finance and private sector investment.

In addition, we are increasing support to Pacific governments, the Red Cross and NGOs, focusing on preventing disasters and reducing disaster losses. This includes deploying Australian Civilian Corps specialists into Pacific national disaster management offices to strengthen disaster preparedness. We are using our leadership role on the Green Climate Fund to ensure that the fund supports disaster risk reduction projects, particularly in the Pacific. Australia effectively doubles the recommended international target of ensuring at least one per cent of overseas development aid is directed to disaster reduction activities. Disaster risk reduction expenditure was estimated at 2.9 per cent last financial year and has consistently been around or over two per cent over the last six years. In fact, in 2012-13—the last year that those opposite were in government—it was $111 million or only 2.3 per cent compared to— (Time expired)