Scott Morrison refuses Queensland’s request to split $741m flood resilience funding
The prime minister, Scott Morrison, has refused a Queensland government request to help fund a $741m natural disaster resilience package in the wake of severe flooding in Brisbane and the state’s south-east.
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The Queensland premier, Annastacia Palaszczuk, wrote to Morrison on 19 March asking to go halves in the package – which was designed to pay for retrofitting, house raising or the voluntary buyback of flood-damaged homes.
In a response received last night, the prime minster said the programs would not be supported by the commonwealth. Morrison said such such measures were “outside the scope” of federal disaster recovery programs and the responsibility of state and local governments.
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“These programs can and should be directly funded and delivered by the Queensland government in the same way that the commonwealth fully funds significant elements of our own contribution,” Morrison wrote.
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The rejection prompted an angry statement from the Queensland treasurer and acting premier, Cameron Dick, who said Morrison’s response effectively said “it’s not his problem”.
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“Every Queenslander needs to know that this letter shows that Scott Morrison does not care about flood victims who need help from all levels of government,” Dick said.
“It doesn’t matter if your home floods two, three or four times over, Scott Morrison wants no part in creating an ongoing solution.
“Every expert report, including his own royal commission into natural disasters, says that the federal government should be funding disaster resilience, but this prime minister will not take responsibility and do his job to fund it.”
The Insurance Council of Australia welcomed the flood resilience program when it was announced in March and called for both state and federal governments to fund such measures.
The ICA in February released a report calling for $726m to be invested jointly by the Queensland and federal governments over five years.
“This announcement highlights that governments are shifting in their thinking, to learn from the lessons of the current disaster and invest in mitigation ahead of the inevitable next event,” the ICA chief executive, Andrew Hall, said last month.
We look forward to further announcements by the federal government, not just for Queensland and New South Wales, but across the country where communities remain vulnerable to extreme weather.”
Source: Thanks msn.com