Kiama’s Mayor Neil Reilly has joined with twenty eight other mayors and councillors from across the country, including those in some of the nation’s most flood damaged regions, to call on the Federal Government to do more to protect communities from the effects of worsening climate change.

“Recent events in Queensland and northern NSW show in sharp relief how much a role local government plays in mitigating and managing some of the weather events that we have been having,” he said, in the presence of Mayor Amanda Finlay of Shoalhaven Council and Mayor Chris Homer of Shellharbour Council. The Lord Mayor of Wollongong is also a signatory.

“And we understand from climate science that these events are going to become more intense and frequent.

“We are doing our best here in Kiama, Shellharbour and Shoalhaven, but we lack the resources to do it effectively on our own.

“We are calling on the Federal Government to provide a coordinated approach to all councils in this position - to help us financially, and to help us with their leadership in providing the support that we need to manage these extreme and extraordinary weather events.”

Wallaby Hill Road landslip

The joint statement - also supported by Better Futures Australia, the Cities Power Partnership, the Global Covenant of Mayors for Climate and Energy and ICLEI Oceania - is calling on the Federal Government to:

• lead the country in delivering on an ambitious emissions reduction target this decade, in partnership with state and local governments, to respond to accelerating climate change at the scale and pace required
• increase funding sources to councils for responding to climate impacts, and cutting greenhouse gas emissions, including providing a minimum of $200 million a year in the form of a disaster mitigation fund and an additional $200 million over four years for a local government climate response partnership
• invest in preparing before climate disasters strike and take responsibility for coordination of climate impact responses to ensure consistency and clearly delineated responsibilities between different levels of government
• ensure all disaster response funding extends to all damaged assets and incorporates the principle of “betterment” to allow cities and communities to be rebuilt in a way that takes into account the inevitable future changes in climate and makes them more resilient
• establish a national body, or expand the remit of an existing one, to support research on adaptation and act as a centralised hub for up-to-date climate change information.

Floods in Queensland

Kiama Council is a founding member of the Cities Power Partnership, Australia’s largest network of local governments taking action on climate change, and its Director, Dr Portia Odell, says,“Local governments are on the frontlines of climate impacts and needed more support.

“We can no longer leave councils and their communities alone and with little access to essential services, and expect them to spend millions to fix the damages of delayed climate action.

“We know that local governments lack the adequate funding and support they need to rebuild their communities in a way that strengthens resilience and takes into account the increasing climate risks.

The cells on the roof of the Leisure Centre are a result of Council's Cities Power commitment

“Councils are already working hard to slash emissions locally and prepare their communities for the mounting climate impacts, yet support from the Federal Government is sparse.

“The Federal Government must step up to protect communities from catastrophic climate shocks.”