Following record-breaking floods on NSW’s Mid North Coast that have left almost 800 homes uninhabitable, 38 former emergency service commissioners and chief officers from every state and territory are calling on the federal government to immediately release its completed National Climate Risk Assessment, so communities and emergency services can better prepare for more frequent and destructive disasters, supercharged by climate change.
Former NSW Fire and Rescue Commissioner, and Founder of Emergency Leaders for Climate Action (ELCA), Greg Mullins said, ‘I am horrified and saddened to see Australians losing their lives and emergency workers putting themselves at risk on the front lines of yet another major climate-fuelled disaster, fresh on the heels of Tropical Cyclone Alfred.
‘Emergency crews are still assessing the full impacts of the NSW Mid North Coast flooding, but at least 10,000 properties have been damaged in areas that were also devastated by the Black Summer bushfires in 2019-20 and extreme floods in 2021. These floods are the latest catastrophic event to hit communities that have seen too many of them, in areas that have become far more vulnerable to more frequent and extreme floods and fires.
‘We know for certain that the frequency and impact of climate disasters is worsening due to climate change. If emergency services and communities are to have any hope of preparing for the next inevitable extreme weather event, they must have access to the most up-to-date information on what’s coming at them.’
Where is the National Climate Risk document?
‘During the last parliamentary term, the Albanese Government committed to delivering a National Climate Risk Assessment to show how our communities are likely to be impacted by climate change in the future.
‘It was supposed to be released last December, but it’s nowhere to be seen. That’s just not good enough,’ said Mr Mullins.
‘It’s the bare minimum to have a prime minister who acknowledges the influence of climate change on extreme weather. Taking climate change seriously means looking after communities who are being impacted today, but also avoiding making the problem worse by enabling more pollution from coal, oil and gas.’
Former Commissioner of the ACT’s Emergency Services Authority, Major General Peter Dunn (ret.) said, ‘I was involved in the development of the National Climate Risk Assessment. In my lifetime of experience in the public sector, it has been one of the broadest and most far reaching documents that I’ve ever contributed to.
‘The ninety different contributors, including those with practical experience and scientific knowledge worked together to produce a document that is quite unique and really, really important to communities. That effort cannot be wasted. The assessment needs to be made public so that communities can plan for their futures.’
Action and leadership needed
‘We were heartened to hear the prime minister acknowledge that climate change is fuelling more frequent and intense extreme weather events and showing leadership during these devastating floods,’ said Major General Peter Dunn.
‘Now we need the Albanese government to back up these words with real action on climate change. That means helping communities and emergency services properly prepare with the right information, and it also means cutting pollution faster so our most vulnerable communities are protected from the most dangerous consequences of the climate crisis.
‘Every coal and gas approval helps drive the floods, fires and droughts that are hitting Australians hard.’
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