Emergency payments for people affected by Australia's bushfires 'seriously inadequate'

Extract from The Guardian

Bushfires

Acoss calls on government to boost the Disaster Recovery Payment after fires destroy more than 2,000 homes

Sarah Martin Chief political correspondent

Mon 13 Jan 2020 03.30 AEDT Last modified on Mon 13 Jan 2020 03.32 AEDT

A home destroyed by fire on Kangaroo Island. The Australian Council of Social Service is calling for a boost to bushfire emergency payments. Photograph: Lisa Maree Williams/Getty Images

Australia’s peak welfare body is calling on the federal government to immediately boost emergency payments for those affected by bushfires, saying it is concerned the current amount is “seriously inadequate”.
The Australian Council of Social Service chief executive, Cassandra Goldie, has written to the prime minister, Scott Morrison, with a range of recommendations the organisation says are urgently needed to help provide relief to those affected by the bushfire crisis that has destroyed more than 2,000 homes.
“It is vital that the federal government continues to play its role providing adequate support to the thousands of people so badly affected,” Goldie said.
“Acoss is very concerned that the current Disaster Recovery Payment is seriously inadequate, particularly for people on lower incomes and with fewer assets, family and friends to secure transport, alternative housing options and immediate recovery resources.”

The group is calling for the payment, which has not increased since 2006, to be boosted from $1,000 to $3,000, and from $400 per child to $1,000 per child.

Other recommendations include increasing the Disaster Recovery Allowance, which is paid at the same rate as Newstart, which the organisation said was inadequate to cover basic living costs, and providing additional relief for people on low incomes who could not afford insurance.
“As extreme weather events increase in Australia, insurance premiums are escalating and too many people, particularly people on low incomes, find themselves under-insured or not insured.”
According to the Insurance Council of Australia, more than $700m in insurance payments have already been paid out to bushfire victims.
Acoss is also calling on the government to increase funding for food relief, saying the government needs to immediately allocate an additional $30m in funding for the community sector to respond “to the surge in need which is likely to continue for many months”.
“Food relief is critical for people, families and communities that are affected by bushfires,” Goldie said.
Along with a call for the “streamlining” of payments and service delivery, Acoss has outlined a range of medium- and long-term recommendations, including a call for greater action on climate change.

This includes the phasing out of fossil fuel subsidies, investment in energy efficiency and disaster resilience for low-income households, and government support to ensure a “just transition” for workers and communities affected by the shift to renewables.
“Some communities will experience negative effects from our response to climate change, such as those heavily dependent on burning or extracting fossil fuels,” Goldie said.
“We must develop transition plans that are place-based, and include the development of new economic opportunities.”
Goldie, who also wants the community sector included on the board of the new National Bushfire Recovery Agency, praised several government initiatives, including the decision to make the disaster tax exempt and the pause on debt recovery actions for affected welfare recipients.
She also welcomed the establishment of a royal commission, but said there needed to be a national summit on bushfire recovery and preparedness to address the “immediate policy and investment needs for recovery”.
“We need a national summit to draw on the best advice across the community about what we need to do to recover from this bushfire crisis, and what is needed to prepare for the increasing natural disasters that we will inevitably see as our climate changes,” she said.

On Sunday, Morrison announced the government had already paid out $40m in various forms of disaster assistance to more than 30,000 people, with another $40m paid to affected councils.