The statement of the state of emergency, which had also been put in place during the vast fires that affected the country, in 2019, reduces the administrative formalities and to accelerate assistance to victims.
Le Monde with Reuters
Australia said Wednesday 9 March, the national emergency state to cope with the floods that ravage the east coast of the country and which have made at least 21 deaths.
“Australia becomes a country where it is increasingly difficult to live because of these natural disasters,” said Prime Minister Scott Morrison, after visiting the Northern Rivières Region, in the State of New South Wales.
The inhabitants of this region, deprived of electricity and access to the Internet for several days, criticize the authorities the slowness and the lack of magnitude of relief operations. The statement of emergency state, which had also been put in place during the vast fires that affected the country, in 2019, reduces administrative formalities and accelerate victim support.
Flood attenuation measures
The government has already paid $ 385 million (€ 257 million) to flood victims at the national level. Mr. Morrison stated that the aid would be increased in Lismore, one of the hardest cities, and its surroundings, in order to provide food and shelter, mental health support and legal support and legal support and legal support. commercial.
The prime minister, lagging behind in the polls when the legislative elections approached, in May, held the media away from his meetings with the victims of floods, in order, according to him, to protect their lives. Private.
Addressing journalists, the Conservative leader has linked floods and climate change, also at the origin of recent fires, while evoking the responsibility of other countries in reducing carbon emissions. . According to Morrison, flood mitigation measures would save lives, rather than stricter restrictions on pollutant emissions from Australia.
The country is committed to a zero net carbon emissions by 2050, but environmental activists plead for more aggressive measures.