TWISTED PRIORITIES IN QUEENSLAND FLOOD RECONSTRUCTION AND MITIGATION

SENATOR THE HON JOSEPH LUDWIG
SENATOR FOR QUEENSLAND

THE HON BERNIE RIPOLL MP

SHADOW MINISTER FOR FINANCIAL SERVICES

MEMBER FOR OXLEY

MEDIA RELEASE

Tony Abbott’s Budget of broken promises and twisted priorities has signalled the end of support for Queensland flood reconstruction and the cutting of national flood mitigation works.

Senator Joseph Ludwig said the Budget will increase costs to the Commonwealth at the same time as it puts pressure on the cost of living for households.

“$83 million has been scrapped from flood mitigation funding that would lower the pressure on insurance premiums for households in flood prone areas,” Senator Ludwig said.

Labor put $100 million for flood mitigation projects in last year’s Budget. Tony Abbott has cut this to $17 million. That funding could have gone into new projects all around Australia, but instead has been quietly cut from the Budget without warning.

Flood mitigation helps to push insurance premiums down for households in flood prone areas, reducing cost of living for Australians. In some areas, towns without flood levees have insurance premiums three times higher than town with protections.

Shadow Minister for Financial Services, Bernie Ripoll, said Labor invested in flood mitigation to assisting families in flood prone areas to reduce the high cost of flood cover.

“By scrapping funding Tony Abbott is driving up the cost of insurance and turning his back on Queensland families,” Mr Ripoll said.

Budget papers also show that the Natural Disaster Recovery Taskforce and Australian Government Reconstruction Inspectorate will end on 30 June next year, despite seven disasters in Queensland declared this summer.

The Floods Reconstruction Inspectorate, chaired by former Liberal Premier John Fahey, oversees natural disaster spending to extract value-for-money. To date the Inspectorate has created $1.7 billion in savings for Commonwealth and Queensland taxpayers.

Senator Ludwig said the Taskforce has been coordinating the rebuilding of Queensland after the 2011 state wide floods, Cyclone Yasi, the 2013 floods and cyclones – working to roll out support across the state.

“There is still almost 40 per cent of natural disaster works, or $4.2 billion worth of projects, to be rebuilt across Queensland. This is not the time for the Abbott Government to turn its back on the people of Queensland.

“This comes on top of the Abbott Government savaging local governments by ripping $1 billion from their bottom line - meaning less funding for local roads and services.

“Tony Abbott’s Budget of twisted priorities will leave Queenslanders paying for his broken promises,” Senator Ludwig said.

FRIDAY, 23 MAY 2014