Over two-thirds of Australians are being impacted by natural disasters, thus the country needs to significantly improve its infrastructure with the effects of climate change in mind, according to an analysis by consulting giant KPMG.
Around 18 million or 70 percent of Australians were living in local government areas (LGA) impacted by at least one natural disaster in 2022, according to KPMG’s analysis. Meanwhile, almost one-third of Australians were living in an LGA impacted by the bushfires from 2019 to 2020.
In some cases, multiple disasters have impacted LGAs over the past three years. The number of people in these impacted areas is more than twice the average for the past decade.
“It is highly probable that natural disasters and extreme events will continue to present substantial fiscal risks and impact to Australia’s productivity. Therefore, we must act now to ensure we have resilient infrastructure for future Australians,” KPMG Urban Economist Terry Rawnsley said.
“Governments and infrastructure players must factor long-term sustainability into decision-making from the outset.”
Mr. Rawnsley said that some critical infrastructure in Australia will grapple with the effects of climate change. The urban economist added that communities with the least capacity to absorb disaster costs are those that are impacted the most.
“A significant portion of our current infrastructure was originally constructed to withstand weather conditions based on historical patterns,” Mr. Rawnsley said.
“In the fact of increased risks of disasters, we need to ensure that our existing and future infrastructure is fit for purpose. That’s why it is crucial to incorporate adaptation measures into ‘business as usual’ retrofitting and infrastructure replacement. Failing to do so will render the infrastructure less efficient and more prone to long-term disruptions.”
Councils Urged to Submit Road, Community Infrastructure Data
Meanwhile, the Australian Local Government Association (ALGA) and the Institute of Public Works Engineering Australasia (IPWEA) urged Australia’s 537 councils to provide data on the status of their local roads and community infrastructure to help the two organisations understand the scope of the impacts of natural disasters and determine the funding needed to fix the communities.“Local communities depend on this vital network of infrastructure assets, so we encourage every local government across Australia to participate in this data collection by supplying financial and performance data,” IPWEA President Myles Lind said.
ALGA and IPWEA are collaborating on delivering an update to the National State of the Assets (NSoA) report due in 2024.
Around $18 billion of local government roads and a total of $9.2 billion of local government buildings and facilities were in poor condition, according to the 2021 NSoA report.
“Over the past two years, we have faced unprecedented natural disasters impacting more than half of Australia’s local governments,” ALGA President and Labor Councillor Linda Scott said.
Ms. Scott added that based on ALGA’s estimates, flood damage to council roads in Queensland, New South Wales, Victoria, and South Australia alone is estimated to cost at least $3.8 billion.
“Councils collect less than four percent of national taxation, and we want to see financial assistance grants restored to at least one percent of Commonwealth taxation revenue,” Ms. Scott said.
“We are also advocating for an increase in Roads to Recovery funding from $500 million to $800 million per year, which is crucial as road construction costs continue to rise.”
