Michelle Ananda-Rajah (Higgins, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

For many in our community, there will be no leisurely summer vacation strolling on the beach or hanging out after a boozy lunch. Our natural-disaster first responders, whether for fires or floods or cyclones, are either on call, in training or in the field. For them, the intensifying pressures of a changing climate are all too familiar. Their work is physically and mentally taxing, but it saves whole communities and keeps others, like mine, shielded from the worst of it.

Our country is grateful for the work of our first responders, but, more than feeling gratitude, we are focused on ensuring our nation is better prepared for the disasters coming, until humanity weans itself off fossil fuels and this planet stabilises.

So what has been done in a short period time to better prepare us for national disasters? Plenty, it turns out.

One of our earliest actions was amalgamating the National Recovery and Resilience Agency and Emergency Management Australia into one agency, NEMA. NEMA has coordinated the Albanese government's Disaster Ready Fund, which will invest $1 billion in disaster mitigation over the next five years, matching funding from other levels of government on projects like flood levies, cyclone shelters, bushfire detection text and evacuation centres.

We have begun work on building Australia's first national stockpile of critical emergency shelters by Humanihut. Each hut will sleep up to four people and comes with aircon, power, water and waste services. These will help establish mobile shelter camps, to be delivered by 30 June next year. The first camp will have an eventual capacity of 700 people, or over 1,400 first responders.

We've supported the leasing and positioning of a national fleet of firefighting aircraft, such that this year we will have over 500 aircraft—more than ever before. We've opened an upgraded national situation room, enabling better collaboration between all levels of government and non-government organisations. We've introduced a new, simplified fire danger rating system, so that we all understand risk and know what action to take.

NEMA has committed more than $3.85 billion in exceptional recovery assistance packages, with costs shared with the states. In the last budget, we committed more than $236 million over 10 years to ensure communities and first responders have reliable access to flood forecasts and warning, with Queensland prioritised.

Communication is key in times of crisis, especially for first responders, which is why we are investing in improving the National Messaging System and mobile broadband program, which will enable secure voice, video and data comms. Over $1 billion is going towards improving connectivity and resilience in the regions, including hardening the mobile network and ABC broadcasting towers.

Organisations with relevant expertise are encouraged to apply to the $50 million Telecommunications Disaster Resilience Innovation Program, which aims to reduce impacts of power outages, which are the leading cause of telecommunications disruptions. Solutions may include off-grid power solutions or enhanced satellite connectivity, like the LEOs.

Playing to the strengths in communities matters. This is why farmers, landholders and organisations are getting over $13 million to remove flammable weeds, develop emergency plans to protect and reduce threats to agricultural and environmental assets, and map critical habitat of threatened species. We have funded a veteran-run volunteer organisation called Disaster Relief Australia, which will help take some of the pressure off our ADF.

Homeowners in harm's way have access to a free bushfire star rating app to better prepare their home and reduce insurance premiums. We have implemented 12 of the 15 recommendations of the bushfire royal commission, with the rest underway.

Once communities are affected, they need responsive government services, which is why we are boosting Services Australia by an additional 300 staff, at a cost of $228 million. These people will be stationed at capital cities, but also in regional New South Wales, Victoria and Queensland.

All of the above interventions will collectively put downward pressure on the emergence of mental health issues amongst our first responders, but we also understand that we must tackle the root cause. The root cause of these intensifying weather events is indeed climate change, and this is why we have legislated ambitious but achievable targets. We are on track, but it's going to take a whole-of-society effort for us to get there. Like our first responders, we are all obliged to roll up our sleeves and be part of the change we want to see in this world.

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