Anne Ruston (SA, Liberal Party, Minister for Families and Social Services) Share this | Hansard source

Yesterday, in answer to a question from Senator Watt, I said I would provide additional information to the chamber in relation to the Emergency Response Fund. The fund provides an additional and sustainable source of funding for emergency response and recovery from natural disasters in Australia that have significant or catastrophic impact. The Director-General Emergency Management Australia is responsible for providing the minister with advice on accessing the fund and the design of programs to be funded. When that advice is received, the responsible minister will consider the most appropriate use of the fund, taking into consideration the other significant amounts being spent on resilience-building activities, which include the $261 million joint state-Commonwealth funding over five years for risk reduction activities in line with the National Disaster Risk Reduction Framework; $88.1 million for a new world-class disaster resilience research centre; $25.9 million, annually indexed and ongoing, for the National Aerial Firefighting Centre; and $8 million towards the development of a public safety mobile broadband capability. For recovery, funding of up to $150 million per year may be accessed if existing recovery programs are insufficient. For resilience and preparedness or to reduce the risk of future disasters, funding of up to $50 million per year is also available.

The government committed an initial $2 billion for the National Bushfire Recovery Fund to coordinate the national response to rebuild communities and livelihoods after the devastating 2019-20 'black summer' bushfires. That amount far exceeds what was available from the Emergency Response Fund in any given year, and for that reason the fund has not been accessed for recovery. A formal decision of the government is required to access the Emergency Response Fund. Access to these funds is subject to arrangements detailed in the ERF guidelines tabled in the Senate earlier this year.

Public infrastructure such as toilets is covered under the Disaster Recovery Funding Arrangements. Privately owned toilets are not covered under the Disaster Recovery Funding Arrangements, but support may be offered through grants to small business and primary producers and through other mechanisms. I cannot provide any more specific advice without the details of the toilets you were referring to. The government is always willing to work with members of the opposition to support those recovering from natural disasters. I'm sure victims would prefer the opposition to work collaboratively with the government as well.