The Nationals WA will establish a new lead agency to manage disaster recovery and make WA communities safer and more resilient if returned to Government at the 2025 State election, to be known as the WA Resilience & Recovery Agency.
Leader of The Nationals WA Shane Love MLA made the announcement while in Northampton and Kalbarri this week, three years on from the devastation of Cyclone Seroja, alongside local community leaders and impacted businesses.
“A WA Resilience & Recovery Agency, modelled on similar agencies already operating successfully in other jurisdictions, will ensure WA communities can rebuild, recover and reconnect sooner and more effectively in the aftermath of a disaster,” Mr Love said.
“It will take a proactive approach to keeping communities safe by reducing risks, helping communities prepare for disaster, and building resilience capacity at a local level.
“The agency will also take the lead in administering funding following disasters, ensuring it reaches those in need in a timely manner, reducing the haphazard approach to recovery grants, and providing greater transparency and accountability.”
Mr Love said the State Government’s woeful response to Cyclone Seroja, which saw just $8.8 million out of a promised $104.5 million Disaster Recovery Funding Arrangements package reach the ground as a clear example of why a standalone agency was needed.
“Many families, businesses and communities found the recovery grants offered following Cyclone Seroja difficult to access or too restrictive in how they could be used,” Mr Love said.
“It was shameful to see the majority of this vital funding returned to State and Federal consolidated revenue instead of helping communities and households rebuild and recover.”
Shadow Minister for Emergency Services Martin Aldridge MLC said the WA Resilience & Recovery Agency would provide a dedicated recovery capability, taking pressure off local governments, emergency service volunteers, community groups and other agencies.
“Under existing arrangements, the Department of Fire and Emergency Services is often only responsible for immediate disaster response, leaving local governments, community groups and volunteers to do the heavy lifting with their long-term recovery,” Mr Aldridge said.
“As we saw following the Wooroloo Bushfire, Cyclone Seroja, and the Kimberley floods, recovery can take months or even years, and many local governments have limited capacity to coordinate and undertake recovery activities on such a significant scale.
“Numerous reports, including the Bushfire Royal Commission, have called for State Governments to take a larger role in disaster preparedness and recovery, and that is something The Nationals will deliver by establishing a WA Reconstruction Authority.”
Mr Aldridge said the Queensland Reconstruction Authority (QRA) was regarded in the emergency services community as a ‘best practice’ model for disaster recovery.
“In 2022-23 alone, the QRA provided almost $1.5 billion in disaster recovery support and grants funding, responded to events across 57 local government areas, and secured $670 million in Commonwealth funding for Queensland,” Mr Aldridge said.
“This is many orders of magnitude beyond what WA has been able to deliver to help disaster impacted communities build back sooner and stronger, showing just how inadequate our current recovery model is.”
The Nationals WA candidate for Geraldton Kirrilee Warr welcomed the announcement.
“As someone who witnessed firsthand the impact of Cyclone Seroja in my community and across the Mid West region, it’s critical that we learn from this disaster and improve our capacity for disaster recovery into the future,” Ms Warr said.
“The WA Resilience & Recovery Agency will help to create stronger, safer and more resilient WA communities, and ensure families, businesses and primary producers can access funding and support to get back on with their lives sooner.”
