Horsham Rural City Council is stepping up its advocacy efforts over proposed changes to national disaster recovery funding, warning some proposed changes could leave regional councils carrying a greater share of recovery costs after natural disasters.
At its meeting on 28 September, Council endorsed a submission prepared by the four councils involved in the Wimmera Emergency Management Resource Sharing Partnership and agreed to continue advocating to both the State and Federal Governments.
The partnership includes Horsham Rural City, Hindmarsh Shire, West Wimmera Shire and Yarriambiack Shire councils, which collectively support communities regularly impacted by disasters events such as bushfires, floods and storms.
Mayor Cr Brian Klowss said Council supported many aspects of the proposed reforms but had concerns about how some proposed changes could disproportionately affect regional communities.
"We support measures that make disaster recovery funding easier to access and help communities become more resilient," Cr Klowss said.
"But some of the proposed changes could make it harder for regional councils to recover from natural disasters, and that's something we need to get right."
One of the key issues is a proposal to raise the Victorian threshold for Commonwealth disaster recovery funding from $240,000 to $2.7 million. The proposed threshold would significantly change how smaller disaster events are funded, but it remains unclear how those costs would be managed.
Cr Klowss said many disasters in regional areas may fall below the proposed threshold despite causing significant damage and recovery costs.
"A flood, storm or bushfire doesn't have to cause millions of dollars of damage to have a major impact on a rural community," Cr Klowss said.
"We're concerned there is currently no clear answer about how events below the proposed threshold would be funded, or whether state governments would step in to fill that gap."
Cr Klowss said councils could face a much greater financial burden if funding arrangements for smaller disaster events were not clarified.
"Regional councils already work hard to maintain roads, community facilities and essential services."
"If we're expected to cover more disaster recovery costs ourselves, that money has to come from somewhere. Ultimately, that could mean other projects or priorities are pushed back."
Council has also raised concerns about a proposal that would allow councils to spend up to 15 per cent extra when rebuilding damaged assets to make them more resilient to future disasters.
While welcoming the principle behind the change, Cr Klowss said the proposed allowance may not go far enough.
"The idea is a good one. If we're rebuilding a road, bridge or culvert after a disaster, it makes sense to rebuild it in a way that reduces the risk of future damage rather than simply restoring the asset to the condition in which it failed," he said.
"But in many cases, a 15 per cent allowance won't be enough to deliver meaningful resilience improvements. If we want stronger infrastructure that can better withstand future disasters, the funding needs to reflect the real cost of achieving that."
As part of its resolution, Council will write to Australian Government ministers and relevant decision-makers seeking changes to the proposed framework. Council will also seek clarification from the Victorian Government about how it would respond to the reforms and how any gaps in funding support would be addressed.
Council is advocating for a more flexible funding framework that recognises local disaster impacts, cumulative recovery pressures and the limited capacity of regional councils to absorb increasing disaster recovery costs.
Cr Klowss said it was important that the realities facing regional and rural councils were considered before any changes were finalised.
"Regional councils maintain thousands of kilometres of roads and a huge amount of public infrastructure across large areas," Cr Klowss said.
"We support reform, but regional communities can't be left worse off as a result. Any new funding model must recognise the realities facing regional and rural councils, support recovery from cumulative disasters and provide the investment needed to build infrastructure that can withstand future events."
The submission from the Wimmera Emergency Management Resource Sharing Partnership supports the overall direction of the reforms while calling for changes to ensure regional communities are not left worse off under the new arrangements.
