Christine Milne (Tasmania, Australian Greens) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I seek leave to amend general business notice of motion No. 665 standing in my name for today relating to disaster relief.

Leave granted.

I move the motion as amended:

That the Senate—

(a) congratulates the Australian Business Roundtable for Disaster Resilience and Safer Communities for being the first private sector organisation to win the prestigious 2015 United Nations Sasakawa Award for Disaster Risk Reduction;

(b) notes the work of the Productivity Commission that the Federal Government has spent record levels of over $13.7 billion on post disaster relief and recovery in the past decade, while outlays on pre disaster mitigation were only 3 per cent of this figure;

(c) notes the increasing frequency and intensity of extreme weather events as global temperatures rise; and

(d) calls on the Federal Government to invest in pre disaster mitigation in order to reduce post-disaster spending, while saving homes, lives, critical infrastructure and reducing insurance premiums.

I seek leave to make a short statement.

Stephen Parry (President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Leave is granted for one minute.

Christine Milne (Tasmania, Australian Greens) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I want to draw attention to the operational paragraph, which calls on the government to invest in pre-disaster mitigation in order to reduce post-disaster spending. I want to make it clear that it is not one substituting for the other; I would want both pre-disaster spending and post-disaster spending. This is not a cost-shifting exercise to the states. It clearly is not that; it is about recognising that if you spend money up-front, you are likely to save yourself on the actual amount you have to spend afterwards, but it does not actually suggest that you would not be spending afterwards.

Mitch Fifield (Victoria, Liberal Party, Assistant Minister for Social Services) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I seek leave to make a short statement.

Stephen Parry (President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Leave is granted for one statement.

Mitch Fifield (Victoria, Liberal Party, Assistant Minister for Social Services) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

We congratulate the business roundtable for achieving a certificate of distinction in the 2015 United Nations Sasakawa awards for risk reduction. The awards ceremony form part of the third United Nations world conference on disaster risk reduction, which was attended by the Minister for Justice in Japan over the weekend. During the UN conference, the minister spoke about the Productivity Commission inquiry, that the inquiry was commissioned at the request of all states and territories in recognition of the increasing impacts of disasters in recent years.

Since 2009, natural disasters around the country have claimed more than 200 lives, destroyed or damaged more than 10,000 homes and devastated hundreds of thousands of Australians. While extreme weather is affecting life in this country, the commission's draft report found that demographic factors, including where and how we build, are leaving us increasingly exposed. More focus is needed on how we can be better prepared and how we can target our investments to get the best outcomes for individuals, communities and businesses and governments. The reforms being considered by the inquiry are complex and wide-ranging, and the government will respond once it has had the opportunity to thoroughly consider all options.

Question agreed to.