Flood Recovery and Resilience in Lilley

Ms WELLS (Lilley—Minister for Aged Care and Minister for Sport) (09:51): 28 February marks 12 months since devastating floods wreaked havoc on homes, businesses, schools and sporting clubs in my electorate of Lilley on the Northside of Brisbane. Over three days, our community was smashed by torrential rain, the likes of which the Northsiders I spoke to had never seen before. Thousands of people lined up in cars, waiting hours for sandbags at the Zillmere depot, as Daniel and his team of council workers worked above and beyond to try to keep up with the demand. Tim, the tinnie man of Finnie Road, and numerous other Deagon tinnie owners like him ferried people up and down the streets of Deagon to help them evacuate. Kedron-Wavell became a temporary emergency shelter for stranded residents who could not return to their homes. Our community came together. St Pat's and Nudgee volunteered on a Saturday to clean up people's homes, and Domino's donated the pizza to feed them. Good Samaritans from Banyo and beyond dropped off hot meals to my office that we delivered to Northside Connect in Nundah and to SANDBAG in Sandgate. The now Prime Minister came to a barbecue in Deagon to listen to residents' experiences.

In the aftermath of the floods, as we took stock of the damage and looked to rebuild, two things have really become clear. Firstly, natural disaster mitigation should be treated as essential nation-building infrastructure. It protects communities; it keeps our economy and productivity moving during natural disasters; and, most importantly, it saves lives. Secondly, we need government action to keep insurance prices from skyrocketing.

The Albanese government is committed to helping communities to prepare better and recover more quickly from natural disasters. Our flagship Disaster Ready Fund, supported by the Insurance Council of Australia, the Red Cross and the Australian Local Government Association, will invest up to $200 million per year to help homes, businesses and communities resist floods, cyclones and bushfires. We have established the National Emergency Management Agency and announced an independent review into Australia's disaster funding system. The Albanese government is also working in partnership with the insurance sector, and we are delivering $22.6 million to work with the insurance sector to find ways to help Australians with rising insurance premiums. This funding will also help to find ways to investigate initiatives to reduce hazard risk, which will put downward pressure on insurance premiums, a vital measure for residents in suburbs like Deagon, Boondall and Brighton that are facing increased premiums.

On the ground in Lilley, the Albanese government has co-invested almost $10 million to help local sporting clubs in their flood recovery and to better cope with the severe weather events that lie ahead. That includes $2.9 million for the Mitchelton Football Club, $1.8 million for the Valley Hockey Club and $1.6 million for the Brisbane Netball Association, and there's more. We will be flooded again. I think we all accept that that is inevitable where we live. So we must be better prepared to help people protect their homes and their clubs and to recover faster. I thank the House.