Increasing cost of living, disasters and rising insurance costs. It’s time for disaster mitigation action

[...]

There are huge opportunities in relation to reducing disaster costs and associated insurance costs. Here’s some ideas for governments, Treasury, finance departments and other agencies about easing cost-of-living pressures without stoking inflation and reducing disasters, disaster costs and insurance:

Number 1 is to increase the 3 per cent of disaster funding that is invested prior to bushfire, flood and other disaster events to reduce the impact of future disasters, as noted in a Deloitte Access Economics (2022) report.  Maybe increase to 50 % of disaster funding spent of mitigation and preparedness.

Number 2 pertains to dramatically increase fire mitigation funding, noting that there is further disaster funding detail in 2020 Menzies Research Centre Strengthening Resilience: Managing natural disasters after the 2019-20 bushfire season https://www.preventionweb.net/media/82890/download: 

[...]

Number 8 is to urgently review increasing cost of living insurance rises across Australia and the solutions available in relation to natural disaster funding and costs.

Number 9 is to apply greater mitigation funding to those areas/ regions that are suffering from large increases in insurances due to natural disasters and which are where insurances are becoming unaffordable.

[...]

John O’Donnell is a retired district forester and environmental manager for hydro-electric construction and road construction projects. His main interests are mild maintenance burning of forests, changing the culture of massive fuel loads in our forests setting up large bushfires, establishing healthy and safe landscapes, reducing disasters, fire fighter safety, as well as town and city bushfire safety.