Additional comments from Senator Allman-Payne

1.1The continued acceleration of the climate crisis will see impacts continue to grow in the cost and devastation of natural disasters. Any attempt to tackle growing insurance premiums must seriously reckon with this acceleration.

1.2The Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (APRA) have estimated that in order to cover the economic losses caused by natural disasters, Australia must invest $3.5 billion every year on natural disaster mitigation and resilience.[1] The Government must therefore substantially increase its annual investment beyond the $200 million allocated in order to realistically see a decrease in insurance premiums.

1.3Realistic action to tackle the reinsurance pool would involve not opening any new coal or gas projects, in line with the accepted scientific consensus that avoids climate catastrophe. Further, resilience and mitigation investments can be drawn from existing fossil fuel subsidised projects. For example, the $1.5 billion of funding the Middlearm gas project has received from the Government.

Senator Allman-Payne

Member

Footnotes

[1]Australian Prudential Regulation Authority, Speech to Australian Business Roundtable for Disaster Resilience and Safer Communities, October 2020 (accessed 6 March 2023).