Jenny McAllister (NSW, Australian Labor Party, Assistant Minister for Climate Change and Energy) Share this | Hansard source

When we came into government, we promised to turn the previous government's defunct Emergency Response Fund into a dedicated fund for resilience and mitigation projects. And we have delivered. The Albanese government's flagship Disaster Ready Fund is investing up to $200 million in Commonwealth funding every year for projects across the country. Last year we announced nearly $400 million in matched funding for 187 projects. These included flood levees, evacuation shelters, fuel hazard mapping capability, seawalls and more.

Now, this is in stark contrast to the former government. In three years, their $4.8 billion Emergency Response Fund did not complete a single mitigation project or release a cent in recovery funding, while it made the government over $800 million in interest. Australians expect their government to support them in times of need, and they can be assured we will do just that.