with Susan Templeman MP

When I talk to Hawkesbury residents about the pressures of the cost of living , one particular cost rears its head for those who live on or within the floodplain – home insurance .

Many Hawkesbury residents are feeling the financial penalty of the eight floods we ’ ve seen in recent years , whether they ’ re looking to renew their insurance , or worse , if they have been told their insurer will no longer offer them flood cover .

The affordability and availability of flood insurance , and the way insurers operated , has been the subject of a 13-month Parliamentary inquiry , and I was specially brought onto the Economics Committee because of the experience of our region .

Hawkesbury residents shared their experiences via surveys , and more than a dozen appeared before the Committee

hearing in Richmond in May this year , and some of that evidence has been quoted in the final report : Flood Failure to Future Fairness .

There are 86 recommendations that cover a wide range of issues affecting the flood insurance industry . Some of the recommendations include things like :

• government intervention in the flood reinsurance market

• better buyback and home resilience upgrade schemes

• strengthening of the government ’ s response to floods

• making sure households and small business can get data about flooding that insurers and government have

• reviewing the fairness of disaster recovery programs for individuals , landowners and businesses

• setting higher standards for the insurers ’ behaviour

• providing more support for people , such as Legal Aid , to navigate the claims process

A number of the recommendations are on affordability and access to insurance as it ’ s becoming increasingly unaffordable for properties with the highest risk .

We want to see insurers explore more innovative products for homes and small businesses , and better ways for individual property mitigation to be rewarded by insurers with lower premiums .

We want to see state governments remove state-based taxes on general insurance products , and that insurers commit to passing these savings on in full through lower premiums . While state taxes generally add 20-40 % to the cost of the premium , NSW continues to charge insurance customers to fund emergency services , adding a third layer of tax that increases premiums .

And we ’ ve recommended the

government look at the appropriateness of a government-supported reinsurance arrangement to make flood insurance more affordable .

The real message of the report , to every Parliamentarian and every government - local , state and federal - is that there is urgency to this problem .

It ’ s time to look at how the government can intervene to ensure that people who have homes on the floodplain can access affordable insurance . But now is also the time to have hard conversations about buybacks , making individual homes safer and more resilient , and stopping new development on the floodplain . None of this can be done without working closely with the insurance industry .

What we don ’ t do now will cost taxpayers further down the track , undermine the Hawkesbury economy , and lead to heartbreak for the most flood-prone homeowners .

with Robyn Preston MP

When you have a Defence presence within a community , it shapes that community . There ’ s a sense of pride , protection and security , in the knowledge that a Defence base like RAAF Base Richmond is there . Its presence is forever felt and loved . In 2025 , RAAF Base Richmond will celebrate its 100 th Anniversary and I know the community will want to embrace that very special occasion . Looking back , we came together as a nation after Federation when soldiers went to battle in World War I , to support our allies . We came of age as a proud nation . We earned a reputation and we were the envy of all nations because of our fortitude

and resilience . We never walked away from a challenge and other countries were our greatest cheerleaders because of our resilience and spirit .

Kokoda , in 1942 , demonstrated the heroic defence of Australia against imminent invasion , and the spirit of young soldiers , was reflected in the Kokoda values of Courage , Endurance , Mateship and Sacrifice . These values remain relevant today .

The Spirit of Kokoda was a great example of unity because we worked together , had each other ’ s backs and showed commitment to the challenge at hand . What first seems impossible , can suddenly become achievable . That legacy has continued as this nation has matured

and participated in wars in the Korean , Vietnam , the Gulf War , Afghanistan and the ongoing ‘ war on terror ’. In some of those conflicts , we have marched into the frontline . In others , we have worked as peacekeepers and humanitarians .

Almost one million Australians served in the Second World War .

They fought in campaigns against Germany and Italy in Europe , The Mediterranean and North Africa , as well as against Japan in south-east Asia and other parts of the Pacific .

As we commemorate the eleventh hour on the eleventh day of the eleventh month , we observe a minute ’ s silence dedicated to those soldiers who died fighting to protect the nation . The reason this moment is

significant is because it was at 11:00 a . m . on 11 th November 1918 that the guns on the Western Front fell silent after more than four years of continuous warfare .

On this momentous day , we not only commemorate the loss of Australian lives from all wars and conflicts , but we also reflect on the historical events that led to this day of international significance . I want to also pay my respects to veterans ’ families . For some , their loved ones never returned . Those that did return may have compartmentalised the trauma and grief that they had been exposed to in order to function daily .

To those current serving personnel , I also say thank you .

Lest we forget .