From the CEO: Securing the future and strengthening the resilience of our regions

Australians are increasingly drawn to life in the regions, seeking the allure of the great Australian dream in cities like Townsville in Queensland’s tropical north.

This vibrant city, host of this year’s News Corp Australia 2024 National Bush Summit, offers a compelling lifestyle - abundant local produce, a thriving and welcoming community, easy access to nature, and a strong industrial base promising employment opportunities.

Yet, this idyllic picture and that of other regional centres in Australia is marred by a significant challenge which is impacting the affordability and availability of insurance: more intense and frequent extreme weather.

As a nation, we have made historically poor decisions in permitting developments in high-risk areas, compounding the insurance burden on these communities.

It’s a wicked problem and there is no silver bullet - but there are solutions available.

One critical step is to reform insurance taxes. Suncorp alone collected more than a billion dollars in insurance duties and levies on behalf of federal and state governments last year. These taxes disproportionately affect high-risk, low-income households in regional areas. 

We need to make smart decisions on how we spend this insurance taxation windfall.

Suncorp supports redirecting these funds to provide immediate relief directly to vulnerable households who need it most.

It’s also important to deepen our partnerships with governments, insurers and communities to address not just how we respond to these disasters, but how we prepare for the future.

But governments can’t be expected to take on all the risks. We have seen overseas this can lead to unintended consequences where people stay in high-risk areas knowing the government will pick up the tab.

Governments have stepped up to the plate with the $200 million annual Disaster Ready Fund and the Resilient Homes Funds in Queensland and New South Wales to help relocate, raise and retrofit homes in high-risk areas.

We need to scale up such initiatives to be always on – not just after an event.

This needs to be right on top of the national agenda alongside housing affordability, that the Federal Government’s budget recently allocated $6 billion to improve.

The future of our regions depends on our ability to mitigate the impacts of extreme weather, and for this we need to see greater investment in strengthening resilience measures across communities.

The bush will always be defined by the weather, but we know what we can do to protect homes and businesses, and ultimately help people to stay in the regions.