- Delegation to New Zealand and Samoa
- As a part of the Australian Parliament’s outgoing official delegation program, Committee Chair, Mr Luke Gosling OAM MP, and the Hon Scott Buchholz MP visited New Zealand (NZ) and Samoa from 5‒10 June 2023. Parliamentary delegations promote a greater understanding of key regional issues and to strengthen inter-parliamentary relations.
- The visit assisted the Committee’s work on its inquiry into the implications of severe weather events on the national regional, rural, and remote road network. It focused on the Committee’s remit of transport systems, regional development, and rebuilding after natural disasters. The visit also provided a valuable opportunity to strengthen Australian-Pacific relations.
- The Committee was interested in learning from New Zealand’s experiences during the rebuild and transformation of Christchurch and Kaikōura following the 2010 and 2011 earthquakes which badly damaged infrastructure, including thousands of homes and the Christchurch central business district. Of particular interest to the Committee were Samoa and New Zealand’s high vulnerability to natural disasters, and their work incorporating elements of environmental sustainability, climate change adaptation, and disaster risk mitigation in their infrastructure planning.
- Through meetings and site visits the delegates heard from a range of stakeholders including the Prime Ministers of Fiji and Samoa, Governor-General of NZ, Secretary General of the Pacific Islands Forum, Australian High Commissions in NZ and Samoa, Samoa Infrastructure Committee, Samoa Legislative Assembly, members of the NZ and Samoan Parliaments, NZ Parliamentary Friendship Group, NZ National Emergency Management Agency, Kaikōura District Council, University of Canterbury, and the Samoan Ministry of Works, Transport and Infrastructure.
- Meetings and site visits enabled Members to learn more about responding to significant and recurrent disasters, managing damage to critical infrastructure including road networks, rebuilding to improve resilience, responding to network disruptions, and the broader infrastructure and investment challenges presented by climate change.
- Parliamentary delegations create mutual understanding and global connections with parliaments, government departments and agencies, businesses and local communities. Bilateral visits also promote Australia to the world and bolster our own capabilities. This visit, in particular, also reinforced the importance of bilateral ties between Australia and its neighbours, particularly in relation to disaster management and infrastructure.
- It is important that we strengthen our bilateral ties with our closest neighbours, particularly in relation to issues that are increasingly affecting us all that require a global effort. Australia should continue to build greater partnerships with our Pacific Island Nation neighbours. Providing our expertise to countries building their capacity to better withstand natural disasters is an important component.
6.8The Committee recommends that the Australian Government strengthen bilateral ties with New Zealand and Samoa, particularly in relation to disaster management and infrastructure issues.
6.9The Committee recommends that the Australian Government highlight opportunities for Australian partnerships with Samoa through Austrade and communicate opportunities for joint ventures with Australian organisations.
6.10The Committee recommends that the Australian Government consider development opportunities between the Australian Volunteers Program for Samoa and the Australian Engineers Association mentoring program and other relevant Australian mentoring programs.
6.11Australia and NZ are continuously working to strengthen the already very strong bilateral ties between our two nations. As NZ is the second-most natural disaster prone country in the world, we have much to learn from their experiences.
6.12The Committee notes there a Memorandum of Cooperation between both Australia and NZ’s National Emergency Management Agencies and believes that it could be strengthened by establishing a regular exchange program between both agencies.
6.13The Committee recommends that the Australian Government consider options for a formal exchange program between the New Zealand National Emergency Management Agency and the Australian National Emergency Management Agency.
6.14A report commissioned by the Insurance Council of Australia, The Cost of Extreme Weather, estimates ‘that over the last 10 years the average annual household cost of extreme weather has been $888, but that this figure is expected to jump to more than $2,500 a year by 2050’. The report also noted that:
- In 2021-22, insurers paid $6.41 billion from more than 380,000 claims across multiple events, which was $3.9 billion more than the previous 12 months
- The February-March flood has so far reached $5.28 billion in insured losses from more than 233,000 claims and is the costliest natural disaster in our history after the 1999 Eastern Sydney Hailstorm ($5.57 billion in insured damages normalised to 2017 values).
- Home and contents insurance is not only essential in assisting communities to recover and rebuild from extreme weather events, it also provides temporary accommodation and helps people rebuild their homes and lives.
- These benefits are, however, becoming increasingly out of reach with many now being unable to afford the cost of insurance with rising premiums. With insurance costs estimated to exponentially increase over time, it will inevitably become increasingly out of reach for many Australians.
- To support communities and homeowners recovering from natural hazards, NZ introduced the Natural Hazards Insurance Act 2023 (NHI Act). The NHI Act:
- makes the rules for mixed-use buildings clearer, simplifying excesses for claims, and changing cover for retaining walls, bridges, and culverts
- extends the cover from just earthquakes to include storm, floods, landslips, volcanoes, tsunami, and hydrothermal activity
- introduces a Code of Insured Persons’ Rights which sets out the rights of insured persons to have their claims managed and settled in a fair and timely manner.
- In a media release noting the passing of the Natural Hazards Insurance Bill, the New Zealand Government stated that:
Our natural hazards insurance scheme supports us to have one of the world's highest rates of residential property insurance. It is crucial New Zealanders can continue to get affordable insurance cover, and have their compensation paid as quickly as possible.
Insurance is fundamental to helping communities recover after an event. Compensating policy owners for the damage caused by a natural hazard means they can repair their home and move on with their lives.
6.19It would be beneficial for those Australian communities that are most affected by extreme weather events to ensure that they can continue to obtain and maintain affordable insurance cover. The Committee recommends that the Government consider adopting a Natural Hazard Insurance Scheme similar to the NHI Act.
6.20The Committee recommends that the Australian Government develop legislation to provide for the introduction of measures to protect the rights of insured persons living in areas at risk of natural hazards, giving consideration to New Zealand’s Natural Hazards Insurance Act 2023.
Mr Luke Gosling OAM, MP
Chair
7 December 2023