The "catastrophic" flood disasters in northern NSW and southeast Queensland will be declared a national emergency, as the federal government rallies to support victims with a major new relief package.
Prime Minister Scott Morrison made the announcements during a visit to flood-ravaged Lismore on Wednesday, his first public event since emerging from a week of COVID-induced isolation.
Mr Morrison said he would ask Govenor-General David Hurley to trigger a national emergency declaration, handing the government emergency powers to cut through red tape to support victims of the crisis.
It would mark the first time a national emergency has been declared amid a natural disaster since the laws passed federal parliament in December 2020.
The move was a recommendation from the royal commission sparked by the Black Summer bushfires in the summer of 2019-20.
The government has also announced another tranche of financial support for flood ravaged communities, including $25 million for emergency relief and $10 million in mental health support for school-aged children in the northern rivers region of NSW.
Two extra weekly disaster payments - worth $1000 for adults and $400 for children - will be available to people in three council areas which are facing "catastrophic conditions".
"The sheer scale and impact to these areas in northern NSW highlights the need for extra support right now," Mr Morrison said.
He signaled the government would dip into its $4.8 billion emergency response fund to help pay for the initiatives, having previously resisted pressure from Labor to do so.
Labor was on Wednesday morning pressuring Mr Morrison to declare the flood crisis a national emergency.
"He should do that today," opposition disaster and emergency management spokesman Murray Watt told ABC RN Breakfast on Wednesday morning.
"He should declare a formal national emergency and make use of the powers that he gave himself after the bushfires."
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Mr Watt warned Mr Morrison to expect a "frosty reception" when he arrived in Lismore, saying locals had felt abandoned by the government during the crisis.
Deputy Prime Minister Barnaby Joyce also predicted Mr Morrison wouldn't receive a warm welcome in the northern rivers.
"People are incredibly vulnerable, and it's understandable that they want to express that and the pain that they're going through," Mr Joyce told Sky News.
Residents in Lismore and surrounding areas have criticised the government's handling of the crisis, calling the response too slow to help deal with the clean-up efforts.
Mr Joyce said residents in flood-affected areas had not been let down by the government response or ADF rollout.
More than 2650 ADF personnel were expected on the ground in northern NSW on Wednesday, up from 1635 on Tuesday.
The personnel are helping with clean up tasks, earth moving, food distribution and assistance at evacuation centres.
The ADF is also continuing to aid the flood recovery in Queensland, with more than 1230 personnel expected on the ground on Wednesday.
Brigadier Robert Lording, who is in Lismore on Wednesday, told Sydney radio station 2GB that the scale of the incident had had been "far bigger than anything we've potentially experienced in this area before".
"It's a large logistics effort to get people up here, and importantly, it's a big logistics effort for us to get the money here and to be able to support them."
The federal government has already paid out $385 million to more than 330,000 flood victims in NSW and Queensland in the past nine days.
Minister for Government Services Linda Reynolds said the government had "acted swiftly" to deliver urgent support to people affected by what she described as the largest disaster in recent Australian history.
The bushfire royal commission recommended the national emergency declaration power after finding the Commonwealth needed to take "further action, and do so sooner, to protect lives and property in the future".
A declaration would provide a signal to communities about the severity of the disaster and prompt Commonwealth agencies to "adjust their posture" in response to the unfolding crisis, the commission noted.
The new laws allow the Prime Minister to call a national emergency either at the request of a state or territory or, in limited cases, off the Commonwealth's own bat.
NSW hasn't declared a statement of emergency amid the flood crisis.
The new powers would allow ministers to suspend or vary red tape requirements which might be a barrier to a person accessing support during a crisis.
Commonwealth agencies could also be compelled to quickly provide key information directly to the Prime Minister.
What is a national emergency?
- Governor-General David Hurley is expected on Wednesday to approve the declaration of a national emergency on the advice of Prime Minister Scott Morrison. It will be the first such declaration since laws passed in December 2020.
- The idea of a national emergency declaration came out of the Black Summer bushfires royal commission.
- The royal commission noted Australia's disaster outlook "is alarming".
- The declaration would signal to communities the severity of a disaster, act as a marshalling call for the early provision of federal government assistance, facilitate coordination with state and territory emergency agencies, and, in very limited circumstances, allow the federal government to act without a request from a state or territory.
- The laws, passed by the federal parliament in December 2020, allow a national emergency to be declared "where an emergency has occurred, is occurring or is likely to occur, and it has caused, is causing or is likely to cause nationally significant harm".
- It requires the prime minister to present advice to the governor-general through federal executive council.
- A review of the use of the powers must be conducted within 12 months of the declaration.
What are its powers?
- The laws allow ministers to "suspend, vary or substitute 'red tape' requirements in laws that they administer, where doing so would be of benefit to the public, or a section of the public, during a national emergency".
- This can include such things as removing barriers to people in emergency-affected areas accessing payments, benefits or services without the need for ID documents or witnessed signatures.
- It also allows the Prime Minister to find out what stockpiles, assets and resources the government has at its disposal, whether stockpiles need supplementing, and what could be made available to assist in the recovery.
With AAP
More to come
Dan Jervis-Bardy
Dan covers federal politics from Parliament House, with a special focus on climate policy and the NDIS. He has previously reported on ACT politics and urban affairs since joining the Canberra Times in 2018.
Dan covers federal politics from Parliament House, with a special focus on climate policy and the NDIS. He has previously reported on ACT politics and urban affairs since joining the Canberra Times in 2018.
