Scott Morrison says the next phase of financial support for flood-ravaged communities is coming, indicating he will travel to the Northern Rivers region as soon as he leaves Covid isolation.
The Prime Minister will meet with the expenditure review committee on Tuesday afternoon to sign off on the additional funding measures.
While detail on the next tranche of support is scant, Mr Morrison told the AFR Business Summit that more money was on the way to help communities rebuild.
“The government is finalising its first wave, over and above measures, particularly for the Northern Rivers area. (The) NSW government is doing the same,” he said.
“We're looking to integrate those plans as much as possible to ensure that we can rebuild northern NSW, particularly in the most acutely affected area in and around Lismore.”
The government is facing fierce backlash over its response to the crisis – with the Defence Force rollout a sticking point for many locals.
Seeking to downplay criticism, Mr Morrison pointed to the $1bn that had been directed to Queensland and NSW in addition to the $200m paid out in emergency payments.
“It is just mind-boggling; the scale of the food in and around Lismore. I’ve been in constant contact with the (NSW) Premier about this,” he said.
“I’ll be there this week, as soon as I can come out of isolation, to see this first-hand and talk to the community.
“Not just about short-term clean-up and the challenges we face in the immediate response … but also in the long reconstruction that is going to be needed.”
Mr Morrison conceded the floods were an unfortunate reminder of the increased frequency and intensity of national disasters.
But when it came to climate change, he insisted the government had the settings right.
“We will not sacrifice our nation's energy security, trading off affordability and reliability,” Mr Morrison said.
“We've got the balance right when it comes to managing emissions reduction and growing our economy and supporting our traditional industries.”
But he conceded the global environment was unstable, and Australians would continue to live in an era of uncertainty for some time.
“The world has become a more uncertain, less stable and more dangerous place,” he said,
“I wish I could say this area of radical uncertainty is coming to an end, but it’s not.
“I can say with confidence that our government is the best placed to continue to navigate Australia’s way through these incredibly difficult and uncertain times.”
