Karen Grogan (SA, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Minister for Emergency Management, Senator McAllister. My great home state of South Australia has recently braced itself for some catastrophic fire conditions over a number of days. The CFS volunteers face really challenging conditions, and we are really deeply grateful for their work in keeping South Australians safe. What should Australians be preparing for this summer, Minister? How can they get themselves and their communities ready?

Jenny McAllister (NSW, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Emergency Management) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I thank Senator Grogan for her question, and I join her in thanking the many paid and volunteer firefighters and emergency service workers across Australia that are facing some really tough conditions. Australia is, unfortunately, one of the most disaster-prone countries in the world, and this is our busy season. In the lead-up to the season, the National Emergency Management Agency has conducted the largest ever preparedness program, directly engaging over 2½ thousand people through information sessions and running crisis scenarios to get us ready for the season ahead. This week, I'm also speaking with parliamentarians across this place, on both sides of the aisle—and I thank all parliamentarians for this—to talk about the risks that their communities are facing and how they can prepare.

As Senator Grogan mentioned, we are already seeing an increased risk of bushfire in parts of South Australia and crossing over into Victoria. We've also seen bushfires impacting Western Australia, the Northern Territory and parts of Queensland. On the east coast, communities are preparing for a season of severe storms and east coast lows. Up north, we can expect a higher than average chance of severe cyclones possibly drawing further south than usual as a consequence of the very warm conditions.

We should all be prepared for the risk of heatwaves. These are the largest killer of all of the natural hazards. They are a risk to communities in New South Wales and Queensland today. We can all play our part as parliamentarians to inform our communities by amplifying official sources and helping our communities to be prepared and to be ready in case of natural disaster.

Sue Lines (President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Senator Grogan, first supplementary?

Karen Grogan (SA, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Can the minister please outline for us what the Albanese government is doing to better prepare Australians for this higher risk weather season and for the increasing risk of more severe and intense natural disasters?

Jenny McAllister (NSW, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Emergency Management) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The Albanese government has invested in a range of new capabilities that will provide more support to states and territories to respond to natural disasters. These include our aerial capabilities. We have, of course, a large air tanker, and this year it can be reconfigured both for firefighting and to deal with other emergencies. But we also have three heavy-lift helicopters, and it's the first time that the Commonwealth has invested in these multi-use aerial capabilities.

We're also investing in the National Emergency Management Stockpile, and we have more resources in that stockpile, which include large generators, water filtration and purification equipment, water pumps and flood barriers. We're investing in risk reduction through our Disaster Ready Fund to help communities better prepare for future disasters, and nearly $750 million in Commonwealth and state funding has been already provided through this fund, with projects from Queensland to Western Australia and from the Territory to Tasmania. These are really critical steps that we all can support to assist our communities to deal with these challenges. (Time expired)

Sue Lines (President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Senator Grogan, second supplementary?

Karen Grogan (SA, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Thank you, Minister. That's really helpful. Can you tell us why it is that only the Albanese Labor government can be trusted to help communities respond to and recover from natural disasters?

Jenny McAllister (NSW, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Emergency Management) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Unlike those opposite, our government believes in the science of climate change, and what that means is that we understand that natural disasters are increasing in severity and in frequency as a consequence of these changes to our climate. It is one of the reasons that we take our commitment to reduce emissions as seriously as we do. It's also why we are taking serious steps, and have since coming to government, to rebuild trust with communities—trust that was, regrettably, lost under the previous government. We want communities to know that in a disaster the Commonwealth government will be there to support them, and that has included building good, strong working relationships with all states and territories to ensure that we can prepare effectively together, respond quickly together and recover well together.