The Lismore App is publishing Part 6 of our series on 'Flood Readiness—Are We Better Prepared? Today we look at the Federal Government.

This series covers key organisations that play a vital role in pre-flood warnings and in the rescue & recovery after a major flood. We are asking those organisations to let us know how the 2022 floods and Flood Inquiry have changed their procedures and processes so people will experience better outcomes.

So we know what to expect when the unexpected happens next.

***

The Federal Government established the National Emergency Management Agency, or NEMA, in September 2022 in response to recommendations from the Royal Commission into National Natural Disaster Arrangements. The Agency’s fundamental premise is to coordinate whole-of-nation responses to support Australians facing natural hazards that can lead to disasters. So let's have a look at the progress being made in this space.

The Federal Government, NEMA, began by acknowledging the severity of what we faced in 2022, “We recognise these floods have caused exceptional hardship for the Northern Rivers region, that some members of the community are frustrated with the time it’s taking for this recovery, and respect that their recovery needs are unique.

 “The National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) continues to work closely with the NSW Government, which has primary responsibility for this recovery, including addressing the recommendations from 2022 NSW Flood Inquiry.”

Australia is not unaccustomed to disasters. The global concern for the fires we have faced, the droughts we have endured and the weather events that have impacted so many areas in Australia, needs a federally coordinated response that is agile and able to react to increasingly unpredictable situations.

Given the February 2022 flood, NEMA explains the role of the agency.

“NEMA has taken lessons from the widespread floods in 2022 that affected communities from Southern Queensland through to South Australia, and in particular the Northern Rivers, to better inform how we play our national role to support state, territory and local governments in their primary responsibility of reducing the hardship of disasters through preparedness, response and recovery.”

Over the last two years, these are some of the actions taken by NEMA to provide better protection to our country, “To date, our focus on preparedness, prevention and mitigation to combat disaster risk has seen us:

• “Hold the inaugural Higher-Risk Weather Season (HRWS) National Preparedness Summit in September 2023 and deliver 16 HRWS preparedness briefings with over 2,100 attendees.  

• “Build the National Emergency Management Stockpile – which in January 2024, saw NEMA’s off-grid emergency shelter camp and a UV water treatment system deployed to Far North Queensland to provide temporary worker accommodation for Disaster Relief Australia volunteers, who were supporting clean-up activities after Tropical Cyclone Jasper.

• “Facilitate National Coordination Mechanism meetings to support preparedness and consequence management for disasters including severe weather and flooding, temporary housing, disaster recovery and relief, cyber security, supply chains, energy supply, transport and logistics, public health biosecurity and offshore incident response.

• “Invest $38.3 million over four years from 2022/23 for the veteran-led volunteer organisation, Disaster Relief Australia, who were deployed to recent disasters in Far North and South West Queensland, to ensure additional support for states and territories when disasters occur.

• “Invest $1 billion over 5 years in the Disaster Ready Fund towards disaster risk reduction initiatives; with states, territories and delivery partners expected to match the investment in Australia’s resilience, where possible.

• “Commonwealth funding of $31,759,982 was awarded to NSW for DRF Round 1 funding, of which $9,880,764 was allocated to projects supporting the Northern Rivers.

• “Applications for Round Two are now closed with successful projects expected to be announced in the second half of 2024.”

In the first point above, the HRWS is nominated as being between October and April. The following points made up the report delivered in September last year.

• El Niño and a positive Indian Ocean Dipole are both underway and are expected to continue through to at least late spring.
• These climate drivers strengthen the likelihood of the warm and dry conditions forecast for large parts of Australia over spring and summer.
• Both El Niño and a positive Indian Ocean Dipole (IOD) tend to draw rain away from Australia. Over spring, their combined impact can increase the chance of below average rainfall in widespread areas and higher temperatures across the southern two-thirds of the country.
• Due to higher than usual levels of rainfall over the past 18 months, increased fuel load, and drier weather anticipated for the months ahead, we must prepare for the elevated risk of grass and bushfires during the HRWS, as well as possible heatwave conditions.
• The HRWS also means an increased likelihood of severe storms and cyclones.

Get a glimpse of the full briefing on the information for the 2023/24 HRWS provided by The Bureau.

We asked the government how promised financial sums are calculated, and what causes delays in these designated funds. NEMA did not comment directly on this, but an independent review of Commonwealth Disaster Funding is due to be released in April 2024. 

Nema did summarise the financial commitments it has made to our region as totalling $206.1 million spent so far and a share in an over $3.4 billion assistance package for the full national flood bill. Here is their report:

• “Committing $11.4 million to the Northern Rivers Resilience Initiative, being undertaken by the NEMA and the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO), to understand climate, catchment, and hydrological drivers within the region and how these drivers impact flooding.

• “Help enhance the capacity of the Northern Rivers region to withstand the impacts of future flooding events, through the $150 million for the Northern Rivers Recovery and Resilience Program, including pump stations and culvert upgrades, region-wide programs to increase flood risk awareness, assessment of evacuation routes, and the establishment of community-led resilience teams.

• “Support thousands of Northern Rivers youth and at least 75 schools through the delivery of the $10 million Resilient Kids program.

•  “With our partners, support projects under the Anchor Business program which provided $34.7 million to Norco to rebuild its iconic ice cream factory with upgrades to face the future floods.

•  “Commit to equally cost share over $3.4 billion in Category C/D assistance measures, much of that for the Northern Rivers region, following the NSW Floods in February/March 2022.*

• “Continue to streamline processes for local governments and communities to access recovery funds.

• “Deliver the final Australian Government recommendations from the Royal Commission into National Natural Disaster Arrangements and continue to progress joint recommendations with state and territory governments.”

*This package falls under the DRFA - the Disaster Recovery Funding Arrangements made when a disaster is recognised (since Nov. 2018). This link relays the full conditions outlining DFRA assistance. It includes the following points:

• The “Australian Government may reimburse states and territories up to 75 per cent of the financial assistance provided.” 

• The DRFA outlines when it can be actioned and what the finance is for. Amongst these it outlines “assistance is intended as an emergency helping hand for those in need” and “is not intended to replace the need for appropriate self-help strategies.” 

• The DFRA can be used for things like, “personal hardship and distress assistance” and “transport freight subsidies for primary producers”.

• Nema reports that, “Within 24 hours of New South Wales activating the DRFA, the Australian Government put in place immediate disaster payments for adults and children.”

• Also stated, “in New South Wales, 7,477 homes were damaged,: as opposed to 7000 in Queensland. The figure for commercial properties reached 10,000 in QLD, but a figure was not provided for NSW. A full breakdown of assistance provided to both NSW and QLD is available here.

NEMA provided information from the Minister for Emergency Management, Senator Murray Watt, where he reported in June last year that “Councils across Australia will be able to fast-track local repair works following two devastating years of floods, fires and cyclones, with the Albanese Government to advance nearly $1.8 billion in disaster payments to the states.” However an update was not provided.

In the future, the recovery and rebuild may be done differently with the findings of reviews into funding and insurance that are currently underway. NEMA have also initiated a National Emergency Management Stockpile or NEMS as an “enduring national capability.” It includes “self-sustaining emergency shelter camps, water desalination and purification systems and high output power generation.” 

We are unlikely to see the Australian Defence Force (ADF) assisting with a clean-up again after “the independent findings of the 2023 Defence Strategic Review recommended that the ADF should only be used as the last resort for domestic aid to the community during and following disasters except in extreme circumstances, as long-term reliance on the ADF for these events is unsustainable given Australia’s more complex geostrategic environment.”

Senator Watt said the importance of finding long-term solutions to resourcing the response and recovery efforts in natural disasters can’t be understated. The review “has helped to bring together a range of expertise that can be called upon in a disaster and the Australian Government will continue to listen to stakeholders to inform how we ensure we’re better prepared to respond to future disaster events.”

It was also reported that “Work is already well underway to ensure there are many Commonwealth support options to call on, including through the Albanese Government’s $38 million Budget commitment to Disaster Relief Australia, a veteran-led organisation that provides additional support for states and territories when disasters occur.”

Other stories in this series includes:

Part 1: Essential Energy 

Part 2:Communications - Telstra and Optus

Part 2: Communications - TPG Telecom and nbn

Part 3: Police and Fire + Rescue

Part 4: Critical Flood Information

Part 5: Animals