ALGA has long argued that the funding devoted to natural disaster mitigation is not sufficient to meet the needs of local communities, advocating for an increase in funding for mitigation purposes to the level of $200 million over four years. As well as councils needing additional funding, the Natural Disaster Relief and Recovery Arrangements (NDRRA) need some practical changes such as allowing councils to use day labour in recovery operations and improving the 'betterment' criteria to make it easier for damaged infrastructure to be replaced by stronger more resilient assets.
This week's storms this week in NSW have highlighted the crucial role played by councils in supporting their communities. Whilst we cannot eliminate natural disasters we can do more to prevent or at least reduce their impact – to better prepare and manage how we respond to them.