Mayor Neil Reilly has joined his counterparts from flood-damaged regions in calling on the Australian Government to do more to protect communities from tragic and costly extreme weather.
Cr Reilly was joined today by Shellharbour Mayor Chris Homer, in signing the joint statement calling for urgent action.
The joint statement calls on the Australian Government to:
● Lead the country in delivering on an ambitious emissions reduction target this decade, in partnership with state and local governments.
● Increase funding to councils for responding to climate impacts, and cutting greenhouse gas emissions.
● Invest in preparing before climate disasters strike and take responsibility for coordination of climate impact responses.
● Ensure disaster response funding extends to all damaged assets and allows communities to be rebuilt to make them more resilient.
● Establish a national body, or expand the remit of an existing one, to support research on adaptation.
Cr Reilly said councils such as Kiama and Shellharbour, members of the Cities Power Partnership, were working hard to reduce their carbon footprint but needed more support from the Australian Government.
"Kiama Council has established a Corporate Emissions Reduction Plan that will ensure we get to 'net zero' as a Council, by 2031," Cr Reilly said.
"However, we are feeling the serious impacts of climate change right now, such as the recent storms and floods."
"Local government lacks the funding and support needed to repair damaged infrastructure such as local roads or manage clean-up operations on the scale now required."
Read the joint statement: Mayor and Councillor Flood Statement - March 2022
