Nick Xenophon (SA, Independent) Share this | Hansard source

He accepts that. Some of my fellow crossbenchers in the House of Representatives have expressed similar concerns about this. There are a number of crossbenchers—the Australian Greens, the Independents in the lower house—who share similar concerns about insurance arrangements, so that reassures me that this is a robust arrangement that will be in place for a number of years, at least until the Auditor-General undertakes a periodic review in three years time. So, if any precedent has been set, I think it is a precedent that it is going to be very difficult to argue that we should ever have another flood levy like this once these arrangements are in place. That is why I support this legislation. I think that there is going to be a good long-term policy outcome when it comes to the states and territories insuring their assets.