Flood disasters last year cost Australian economy $5 billion
The Albanese Government has flagged further funding for natural disasters in the May budget after it was revealed flooding last year caused a $5 billion hit to the economy.
Extreme weather events and natural disasters helped drive an increase in the price of fruit and vegetables, Treasury research showed.
The damaging weather also disrupted the mining, agriculture, tourism and construction sectors.
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Federal Treasurer Jim Chalmers is warning flooding and natural disasters were costing the federal budget billions in unavoidable spending.. Nine
From late February to early April, the east coast was hit by three extreme weather systems that led to record rains and flooding.
Later in the year, Victoria, South Australia and Western Australia were also impacted by heavy downpours that caused extensive damage.
The Treasury said the impact was equivalent to about 0.25 per cent of gross domestic product.
Treasurer Jim Chalmers is warning disasters fuel inflation, slowed growth and were costing the federal budget billions in unavoidable spending.
He has flagged funding to deal with natural disasters will be a major focus of the May federal budget.
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Australia's east coast was hit by extreme rain and flooding early last year. Getty
Data, released by the Insurance Council of Australia (ICA) in November, showed the insurance bill for storms and floods since January 2020 has topped $12.3 billion.
The New South Wales and southeast Queensland floods of February and March 2022 alone accounted for $5.65 billion worth of claims.
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