Investing for resilient communities

Abstract

Most Queensland councils are well experienced in dealing with natural disasters and the havoc they wreak on individuals and communities. Following a natural disaster, there is often a significant toll on councils and state agencies to undertake recovery and reconstruction efforts. Since 2011, over 80 disasters have cost Queensland more than $16 billion in reconstruction works, with most of this cost attributed to rebuilding our essential public assets such as roads, bridges and floodways. The State-Commonwealth Disaster Recovery Funding Arrangements (DRFA), which replaced the Natural Disaster Relief and Recovery Arrangements (NDRRA) for events from November 2018, is a key funding source for recovery and reconstruction following a disaster. The DRFA is well established in Queensland, with activations for 14 events being administered since its commencement. There is a growing realisation that we need to do more than repair or rebuild our infrastructure to the way it was prior to a disaster – we should be looking at reconstruction through a resilience lens and ‘building back better’. There is, of course, a significant reliance on infrastructure before, during and after a disaster. Building resilience into our infrastructure not only saves money by preventing future damage, it can also be about avoiding the broader economic and social impact of an asset not functioning. Since 2013, Queensland, through the Queensland Reconstruction Authority (QRA), has consistently delivered betterment programs – under the NDRRA and DRFA – and these programs have demonstrated the value of building resilience into reconstruction works. Almost 260 betterment projects delivered in Queensland since 2013 have withstood 16 subsequent events since their completion, resulting in $145 million in avoided reconstruction costs. Recent events such as the 2019 North and Far North Queensland Monsoon Trough and the 2019-20 catastrophic bushfires have provided an appetite to investigate options to incorporate resilience proactively into reconstruction works. In the coming years, the DRFA will allow efficiencies realised within the program to be reinvested in resilience or mitigation initiatives within the state. This will play an integral role in reducing disaster risk and readying communities. QRA is currently undertaking preparatory work to understand where DRFA efficiencies should be invested in resilience initiatives for the greatest gains. QRA has developed the Repeat Event and Dollars Index (REDI) to help councils understand their risk and where to channel investment in resilience. This paper will explore how we can incorporate resilience outcomes into our reconstruction programs – recognising that building resilience is about choosing the option that is the best fit for the community and the economy