Bridget McKenzie (Victoria, National Party, Minister for Emergency Management and National Recovery and Resilience) | Hansard source

As Senator Watt rightly highlights, on 11 March, the Governor-General enacted the National Emergency (2022 New South Wales Floods) Declaration. The Prime Minister formally recommended a national emergency declaration following advice from the Director-General of Emergency Management Australia, Joe Buffone, who on 10 March also briefed Senator Watt as part of my own efforts to make sure we're as bipartisan as possible in dealing with this crisis. This advice was provided in consultation with a range of Commonwealth agencies, based on the best possible information available at that point in time.

The Prime Minister must be satisfied that the scale and impact of the floods meet the legal threshold to declare a national emergency. The making of a national emergency declaration enlivens a range of powers to make it easier for affected communities to access Commonwealth assistance, including empowering ministers to suspend, vary or substitute red-tape requirements—for example, to make it easy for affected individuals to supply identification when they may have to apply for certain disaster relief funding. It allows the Prime Minister to access information from Commonwealth entities or stockpiles—