Media Release: Councils reject moves to decrease disaster recovery funding

Australia’s local governments are calling on the Federal Government to abandon the proposed changes to the Disaster Recovery Funding Arrangements (DRFA) that would reduce the Commonwealth’s funding contribution in some states.

With state and territory budgets under increasing pressure, local governments are concerned about their ability to contribute more, which will have direct impacts in the community.

At the Australian Local Government Association’s (ALGA) National General Assembly last month in Canberra, local governments from across the country voted against moves that would shift the Commonwealth/State funding split to 50/50. The current contribution varies between states. For example, in NSW, the Commonwealth typically contributes 65 per cent.

In the motion put forward by the Byron Shire Council in New South Wales, local governments voted to maintain existing Commonwealth funding proportions to ensure local councils are not further burdened in recovering from natural disasters.

During the debate, councils expressed concerns that any reduction in Commonwealth disaster recovery funding will leave them exposed to more costs after severe weather events.

ALGA President Mayor Matt Burnett said councils across Australia needed certainty that the reforms to Disaster Recovery Funding would strengthen, rather than weaken, their ability to help communities recover.

“We are seeing serious concerns raised in Queensland and New South Wales, and we know local governments in other states and territories are concerned about how the proposed changes will affect them,” Mayor Burnett said.

“We don’t want to see any community or council go backwards as a result of these changes.”

Mayor Burnett said the proposed thresholds for accessing Commonwealth support remained a major concern for councils, with fears that higher thresholds could exclude councils facing smaller-scale events from accessing recovery funding, and that the proposed model may disadvantage disaster-prone jurisdictions.

“Disasters do not stop at borders, and the ability of a community to recover should not depend on where it is located or the financial capacity of its local council.”

Disaster recovery funding and the growing financial burden on councils were major issues raised at last month’s National General Assembly, where delegates from across Australia also endorsed an urgent call for fairer and more sustainable funding for local government.

Mayor Burnett said ALGA would continue to work constructively with the Federal Government, states and territories during consultation on disaster funding arrangements.

“We support reforms that reduce red tape, improve resilience and help communities build back better,” he said.

“However, disaster recovery is expensive and when councils receive just three cents out of every dollar of national taxation, while the federal government collects 80 cents of every dollar of tax, we need a framework that ensures Canberra is meeting the majority of costs.

“The proposed move to 50:50 funding is not proportionate and it would create a huge funding gap when support is needed to our hardest hit communities in floods, cyclones and fires.”