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    SHOWING GRATITUDE: Federal Opposition leader Peter Dutton, middle, shadow emergency management minister Perin Davey, left, and Member for Wannon Dan Tehan, right, with Pomonal Fire Brigade members.
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Politicians call for insurance changes in wake of Grampians fires

Insurance was a key issue raised when Grampians businesses met with federal politicians at Halls Gap last week.

Opposition leader Peter Dutton, joined by Member for Mallee Anne Webster, Member for Wannon Dan Tehan, and shadow emergency management minister Senator Perin Davey in the Grampians, where they visited the Halls Gap Zoo, Halls Gap Hotel and Pomonal Fire Brigade.

Businesses and the communities are struggling to recover since the area was closed during a three-week bushfire in the Grampians, where more than 76,000 hectares of national park and agricultural land burnt.

Four homes in Moyston and Mafeking and 40 outbuildings across the region were destroyed, while 13,538 hectares of farmland burnt, claiming 775 sheep, one horse, one cow, 1285 beehives, and 540 kilometres of fencing.



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The December fire came after fires in February where 45 homes burnt in Pomonal, with the local economy suffering an estimated $200 million loss.  

The fires have also pushed up the cost of Insurance premiums in the Grampians region..

“Words fail me again to describe the heartache and devastation of bushfire in the Grampians, struck twice in 12 months by natural disaster,” Dr Webster said.

“Two key things we all heard about were businesses’ desperate financial situation and the failure of the insurance market to protect them.

“Insurance costs for some Halls Gap businesses have almost quadrupled since the Pomonal fires, and I fear that both the Halls Gap and Los Angeles bushfires will further harm the global insurance pool and drive premiums up further. Worse still, most Halls Gap businesses tell me they cannot secure insurance at all.”

Dr Webster said the Coalition was working with the insurance industry to find solutions to rising insurance costs.

“I am pleased to say that Peter Dutton committed to speaking to the Prime Minister and to consider policy to fix this situation. Insurance companies should have an obligation to provide insurance or businesses simply will pack up and leave,” she said.

Mr Dutton said many business owners were feeling a lot of mental health pressures because the region had experienced its second fire in 2024, and some of them have been impacted through their businesses, houses, and properties.

“There are many businesses who weren’t directly impacted by the fires – that is that their businesses weren’t burnt – but they’ve seen a 90 per cent downturn in their occupancies,” he said. 

“People aren’t going to the zoo, and yet they’re still employing 25 staff – so they’re still paying the wages. 

“There are a lot of businesses who are really concerned, particularly about insurance, and they can’t run their businesses if they don’t have insurance. 

“If they don’t have disruption insurance, if they don’t have insurance in relation to liability, they can’t be taking people on walks and having people in their restaurants if they can’t get the insurance, and as I say, the banks won’t insure them. They’re an uninsurable risk in that circumstance, and that needs to be addressed.”

Mr Dutton called on the State Government to lift its game and seek federal disaster recovery funding assistance.

“I call on the Victorian Premier to work hand in glove with us, we’ll offer support in a bipartisan way to the State Labor Government here and to the Prime Minister as well, to get the Category D assistance on the ground as quickly as possible, because that is the best way of providing financial support to businesses who are employing literally hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of local residents and people who are coming into the region to work – but the wineries and the accommodation places and the tourism centres can’t operate without the tourists being here,” he said.

Mr Dutton said the meeting he had with Grampians business owners was confronting.

“All Australians watched their television screens in horror when they saw these bushfires raging just across here, and when you think of the impact on lives, on livestock, on businesses, it’s been devastating; and the camera’s moved on so we’re watching something different on our television screens now, but the devastation is still here to be dealt with,” he said.

“The small businesses, the families, the communities here who have lost everything, or people who are in the process of going broke, they want to do whatever they can to keep their businesses alive.

“I would just say to every Australian; if you’re thinking about a holiday at the moment, if you’re thinking about where to book for the Australia Day weekend, or for Easter, if you’re thinking about where you go over a mid-year break, or if you want to book at the end of the year and pay your deposit now, please think about Halls Gap and think about the Grampians and the businesses here. 

“They really need your support, they need your help, and many of them at the moment are on their knees.”

Mr Tehan echoed Mr Dutton’s sentiments to encourage everyone to visit the Grampians region.

“If you’re thinking about coming to the Grampians, please do it! Book the accommodation, come and enjoy what is the most fantastic part of Australia,” he said.

“Our volunteer firefighters, our paid firefighters did a magnificent job in protecting our communities. 

”Now what we need is all of Australia to come back here and to get your wallets out and spend money and enjoy this beautiful part of the world.”

The entire January 22, 2025 edition of The Weekly Advertiser is available online. READ IT HERE!