: Good morning all. My name's Joe Buffone. I'm one of the Deputy Coordinator-Generals here at NEMA. We've just briefed the Prime Minister, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Emergency Management on the current situation. Pretty much, the focus at the moment is now currently on a severe cold front that's coming through South Australia, through Victoria, impacting on eastern and southern New South Wales. The main focus there is about wind, and the concern is about many trees going down. On the current flood area, the flooding has eased, or the rain has eased. There is still some inundation in place, but very much a focus on clean up now. So that's the focus, and we're working very, very closely with New South Wales. The other priority is also around animal welfare, because significant stock have been affected, and this cold front coming through will also have an impact on that. I want to give everybody comfort that Commonwealth, state and local governments are all working collaboratively to make sure that the community that are affected are being supported. However, unfortunately, we're still seeing some flood rescues, so a big shout out to please, if it's flooded - forget it. SES are continuing to do rescues, and it's pulling resources away from a whole range of other priority activities. The other thing is, we've activated COMDISPLAN, which is the plan to support states and territories, and we're working very closely with New South Wales on the support that they will need going forward. I'll now hand over to the PM. Thanks, PM.
ANTHONY ALBANESE, PRIME MINISTER: Well, thanks very much, Joe. And can I thank everyone here at NEMA and indeed all of the authorities for the extraordinary work that they have undertaken under difficult circumstances. It is an issue that we're back here again, and unfortunately we are getting far too much experience in dealing with extreme weather events. The science told us that there would be more frequent events and that they would be more intense, and that is what we are seeing playing out with a devastating impact on communities, most significantly, a devastating human impact, with five lives lost during this event, but also a significant environmental impact, and, of course, a significant economic impact as well. Which is why, when we make assessments about cost and about our economy of taking actions to deal with these issues, people need to consider the cost of events such as this as well. Can I thank everyone for the work that they've done, not just the professional staff here at NEMA and other agencies, but a particular shout out to the volunteers for making an incredible difference. I always think that at the worst of times, we do see the best of the Australian character, and we have certainly seen that in recent days with people helping their neighbours, their communities, and also people travelling into areas to provide assistance. At Maitland SES on Friday, I met some of my own constituents, people from Leichhardt and Marrickville who travelled to the region, to the Hunter and the Mid North Coast in order to help their fellow Australians. You are all heroes, and we thank you for what you have done.
Today, we're activating further support and sending more help to communities that have been impacted by these devastating floods. People have stepped up, and my message to these communities is that all three levels of government have got your back. I've been engaged with Premier Minns again this morning about these further announcements that we will make. From tomorrow, we will have 70 Australian Defence Force personnel on the ground in the Mid North Coast helping with recovery, helping with clean up, as well. As well as that, there will be a team from Disaster Relief Australia, 25 initially, there'll be 100 personnel from DRA on the ground by the end of this week to provide assistance. They will be involved in clean up, in debris removal, in welfare checks and re-establishing critical infrastructure that is so important for these communities. At times like this, it is important that all levels of government, as well as the non-government sector, work together to provide support for these communities, and that's precisely what we intend to do. We will tomorrow, I'll travel up north, Kristy McBain, who'll speak after me, the Minister will be travelling there this afternoon. Tomorrow, I'll travel to visit affected communities and to see firsthand again, what the impact is having. Can I say for those people who've lost loved ones, my heart goes out to you. This is a devastating impact, and we need to remember the words that Joe just said as well and continually remind people: if it's flooded - forget it. Do not take risks. There are still risks out there, and the impact of these winds - to be really explicit - common sense tells you the ground is really, really wet. You combine that with heavy winds, you combine that with trees and other structures, it is vulnerable - more vulnerable than usual - that they just come over and that potentially is a very dangerous situation. So, this will have an impact again, on top of the impact that the flooding has had, and it's something that we really need people to be conscious of over the coming couple of days. I do want to finish by saying that - thanking all the emergency services personnel once again.
Today's announcement builds on the support that we're already rolling out. The Disaster Recovery Allowance is up to 13 weeks of income support for those who've lost work due to this event in the four most severely affected local government areas. Eligible individuals can apply from 2pm today through the myGov app or through the Services Australia website. The Personal Hardship Payments are going out $180 for eligible adults and up to $900 per family in the 19 affected local government areas. The Community Recovery Support Fund is immediately available, $1 million dollars for these 19 councils to help with the costs of cleaning up and repairing damage, and that funding is available immediately and will be formally ticked off at the Cabinet, which will meet later this morning. For primary producers and small businesses, concessional rate loans as well as freight subsidies to help transport livestock and fodder will be available as well. We'll continue to monitor what is necessary, and we will ensure that the Government does have your back if you're in these affected communities. I said during the election time period, once or twice, no one left behind. This is what it looks like. Australians looking after each other, particularly the most vulnerable, at what is a really difficult period. I want to thank Kristy McBain and give her a shout out as well. When I appointed Kristy as the Emergency Management Minister, I was very conscious of the experience that she had and the leadership that she showed in 2019-2020 as the Mayor of Bega. It is wonderful that someone with that firsthand experience and diligence and commitment to her fellow Australians has provided the leadership over the past coming days, and I thank her for it. Minister.
KRISTY MCBAIN, MINISTER FOR EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT: Thank you, Prime Minister. I want to thank the Prime Minister and the Deputy Prime Minister for their consistent assistance whenever it's been asked during this period. We have had ADF helicopters deployed doing search and rescue, which has been incredible for communities. But what the Prime Minister has just announced today is that we will have ADF personnel on the ground to assist with clean up and debris removal. We will have the veteran led organisation, Disaster Relief Australia, on the ground, up to 100 people over the next couple of days who will assist with a whole range of logistics, clean up and assistance to local communities. As the Prime Minister said, I've seen firsthand, Disaster Relief Australia do their work in my local community during the Tathra fires, and then after the Black Summer bushfires. And what communities need to know now and into the future is that they have the Albanese Labor Government prepared to walk with them over the coming days, weeks and months. We know recovery is not a straight line, and we know for a lot of these communities it will be the cumulative impact of a number of rain and flooding events that has really impacted them. So, you've heard loudly and clearly today from the Prime Minister and from the Deputy Prime Minister and through our entire Government that we stand ready and able to assist New South Wales and, more importantly, to assist local communities in this recovery process. Those supports are activated, and we have SES doing a range of assessments on the ground at this point in time. As those assessments are completed and more evidence comes to light, and if there are any further requests from New South Wales, we will stand ready to assist wherever necessary. But I want to make it clear to local communities that we are working really closely with New South Wales and with local councils. We are working with elected officials in this area, regardless of political persuasion, because at a moment when Australia has a natural disaster, partisan politics should be out the window, well and truly, and in our Government, that's exactly what you will get. In community, we will work with whomever necessary to get an outcome. Later today, I'll be travelling to Port Macquarie and to Kempsey to speak first hand with local members, with my New South Wales counterparts and with a range of impacted communities. And then tomorrow, I'll be in Taree with the Prime Minister. I think it's really important to again reiterate, at a time of disaster, the Australian people need to come together, and that is what you will see, modelled from the Prime Minister all the way down to the local Mayor. We look forward to working with these communities, and we will take your request for assistance seriously.
PRIME MINISTER: Happy to take some questions.
JOURNALIST: Prime Minister, I have one for you, and also one for Mr Marles. You mentioned the economic impact. Do you have any idea of what the economic impact will be in dollar terms?
PRIME MINISTER: We know it's substantial. We know also that what we don't do is go through with a calculator. What we do is say, if it's needed, we'll support you. Simple as that.
JOURNALIST: Mr Marles, the Prime Minister mentioned that the ADF personnel will be helping with clean up and recovery. Can you tell me a little bit more, specifically, about what role they'll play and what skill set they have that sort of differs from the other people helping in this? And we have this sort of conversation every time there is a natural disaster and ADF get called in, obviously, they're needed, but does Defence have the personnel to spare and the resources to spare right now?
RICHARD MARLES, DEPUTY PRIME MINISTER: So, to answer the first question, as of tomorrow, there will be 70 ADF personnel who will be engaged in recovery and clean up and specifically route clearance. There will be some door knocking. They'll have some light engineering capability, potentially some high clearance vehicles. That's being assessed as to whether or not those sort of vehicles will be needed. And we stand ready to do more in terms of more people, if, in fact, that request comes through, and there's the potential for that going forward over the next few days. So this is an iterative process based on what requests are coming through right now. 70 is what's there. But as I say, we effectively - our posture is to stand ready to provide whatever assistance is needed. In answer to the more the broader question, which is a really good question, and one, as you say, we grapple with every time we have a natural disaster. I mean, the Defence Strategic Review talked about the fact that Defence needs to be the last call that is made, and that there is an increasing call on Defence by virtue of the number of incidents, events, that we are having. We have been working at a policy level with particularly through the National Emergency Management Agency, but with state counterparts around how we can see Defence being the last port of call, and in a way that that is being demonstrated in this particular incident. There are a couple of 1000 volunteer workers through state SES and other organisations which are currently on the ground right now, so that that is happening. And I think that process is going well in terms of managing Defence's ongoing resources, but I would reiterate that in the moment whenever a call is made, obviously Defence answers that call and will provide all the assistance which is necessary. And so, you know, I think we are getting our policies better as we're moving forward, but when there is a moment when there is a crisis, and that call is made for Defence, Defence will always come.
PRIME MINISTER: Can I just add something there? An event such as this has a physical impact, clearly, on people. But it also has a mental health aspect. And from my experience, the presence of ADF personnel on the ground brings enormous confidence to communities that are really doing it tough. It's a sign of how seriously we as a nation are taking what is a catastrophic event. And so I think that can't be underestimated either. And when I visited with the Deputy Prime Minister the Enoggera Barracks as well in Brisbane, after the after the catastrophic events associated with the ex-tropical cyclone of southeast Queensland, northern New South Wales - they were so proud of helping their fellow Australians as well. So just a shout out to the ADF personnel, who are just always there to help their fellow Australians. It's just part of their service. They deserve our respect and our thanks, and they certainly have mine as the Prime Minister.
JOURNALIST: Prime Minister, you've talked about the rising frequency of natural disasters, and the cost of dealing with those disasters. Today, we had another increase in the electricity prices regulated across southeast Australia. Is the switch to renewable energy, you know, increased network costs, and there are some burdens that have fallen on customers. Is that part of the cost of dealing with the rising cost of natural disasters and reducing emissions?
PRIME MINISTER: Well, we know that we have to deal with the challenge of climate change. People who question the science need to look out their window. Need to have a look at what's going on, not just here, but in the world. But Australia is particularly vulnerable, and the science told us that that was the case, which is why we have a responsibility, in my view, not just to take action domestically, but to be a part of global action as well. Now, the transition that is occurring - we know the cheapest form of new energy is renewables, backed by gas, backed by batteries and backed by hydro for firming capacity. That is the transition that is underway. It's one that my Government is continuing to support. And at the election on May 3, there was the option of stopping all of that, waiting until the 2040s for the nuclear fantasy to be rolled out with costs, unknown of that. But we do know, when we look at costs, you've got to look at what the extent of the costs have been of the events just in the last year. You know, every weather event can't be put down to climate change. We've always had floods and droughts in Australia - always had that. But what we do know is that they are more frequent and they are more intense.
JOURNALIST: Both yourself and Minister McBain mentioned the role of Disaster Relief Australia and what they'll do in the clean-up. I understand earlier this year, Disaster Relief Australia put a proposal to both the Government and the Opposition for additional funding ongoing to be able to sort of scale up their capacity. I understand that request has been reiterated after the election. Is that something that the Government will consider and ultimately looking at the number of ADF personnel on the ground - 70. Looks like there'll be 100 DRA personnel on the ground. Do you see long term, if you are to fund them ongoing, that that might increase, and we'll see DRA take on more of the role?
PRIME MINISTER: Look, we are strong supporters of Disaster Relief Australia. We have provided them with support. I visited DRA in the electorate of Lilley, I think it was, during the election, during the flood and cyclone associated disaster earlier this year. They do amazing work, and they are made up, of course, of a lot of former members of the Defence Force, personnel. And just a big shout out to them. We'll continue to work with them constructively.
JOURNALIST: You've recognised several times that climate change is making these natural disasters worse. Minister Watt is set to make a decision on the North West Shelf expansion this week. How can you justify or how could, like an approval be justified of that, if we know it's making Australian lives more dangerous?
PRIME MINISTER: You can't have renewables unless you have firming capacity. Simple as that. You don't change a transition through, you know, warm thoughts. You do it through a concrete proposal, which is the expansion of renewables up to 82 per cent of the grid. But the way that that occurs is it needs firming capacity to occur. And if you look at New South Wales as a major, major user of energy - it's Tomago there in the Hunter Valley, in this region. It is a major employer there. They're moving to renewables, but they're moving to renewables backed with firming capacity. That is how they have the confidence to be able to do so.
JOURNALIST: The approval is out till 2070 though, that's 20 years after net zero is meant to end.
PRIME MINISTER: Well, it's net zero, not zero. Net zero is an important thing, and it'll be considered according with the environmental law. But you know, you cannot have - you cannot have a shift to renewables without having a confidence, because you will lose community support if people walk into this room here and flick on the switch and the lights don't go on. We need to make sure that there is security of energy supply at the same time as we support the transition which reduces our emissions. We have a concrete, real plan. That's the point. And it's the only one, and it's the one we took to an election in 2022, it's the one we legislated after the election, it's the one we're implementing. You can go down that road, or you can go down the road of 23 different plans, none of them implemented, which is what the former Government had. Or just pretending that you can have investment changes and a change in the energy mix overnight. That can't occur. If it did, then that would be great. But what you need is a real plan with real solutions. That's what my Government has.
JOURNALIST: Thanks, PM. The situation in Gaza, with the humanitarian issue there, with people starving, and also to Israel's plans for some sort of looks like permanent occupation of the strip. How concerning is that? And do you believe that Israel's actions are effectively going to force the hands of countries like Australia to recognise Palestinian state in this term of government?
PRIME MINISTER: Well, Israel's actions are completely unacceptable. It is outrageous that there be a blockade of food and supplies to people who are in need in Gaza. We have made that very clear by signing up to international statements. I made it clear in a discussion that I had with the President of Israel, President Herzog, in Rome just days ago. I made it very clear that Australia finds these actions as completely unacceptable, and we find Israel's excuses and explanations completely untenable and without credibility. People are starving, and the idea that a democratic state withholds supply is an outrage. Now, that is my clear position. It's one I've indicated clearly and directly to the Israeli Government. It's one that will continue to be a part of international statements, as we were last week. You know, Hamas, a terrorist organisation who should have no role in the future of Gaza or the West Bank. We make that very clear. We make clear that hostages should be released immediately. We've consistently and unequivocally opposed what happened on October 7. But states, which are democratic states, have a responsibility to behave in a way that is consistent with International Law and with humanitarian concerns. And the whole world is concerned about what has occurred with the blockade, and Australia will continue to make clear statements on that.
JOURNALIST: Not about statehood, though?
PRIME MINISTER: Well, what we're dealing with here is the humanitarian crisis. That's the issue that we're concerned with, and that is why Australia has signed up repeatedly to statements, whether they be statements by a range of countries, or the joint statements that I've made with the Prime Ministers of Canada and New Zealand, calling for ceasefire, calling for humanitarian aid to be allowed through to Gaza, calling for the release of hostages, calling for an end to hostilities. You know, Australia isn't a participant in any of this. And I make this point as well - people should not bring conflict here, which some of the acts of antisemitism have done, have attempted to do. I'll make that point as well. But you can be a clear opponent of all that and still be able to be critical of the actions of the Israeli Government, which we have done both privately and publicly.
JOURNALIST: I've got a question about farmers, but just to follow up on that, have you spoken to the UK or Canada about taking concrete action against Israel, which is part of the statement that they released last week?
PRIME MINISTER: No, that was a statement by members of the G7. We signed up to, a statement that was, I think, 23 countries from memory, that our Foreign Minister signed up to.
JOURNALIST: And just on farmers - we've been hearing from flood affected farmers that you know they've lost all their sheep, all their cattle. Do you have specific help on the way for farmers?
PRIME MINISTER: Yes, we do. The primary producers and small business support will be triggered in areas. What we're doing is continuously monitoring, but there will be support. The primary producers, allows for concessional rate loans as well as freight subsidies to help with transport of livestock and also to support fodder being given to these areas. Thanks very much.
