CONSTITUENCY STATEMENTS

Mr VIOLI (Casey) (10:06): As we enter the spring and summer months, we are all looking forward to the sunshine and warmer days. However, with this beautiful weather comes greater risks, particularly for my community in the Yarra Valley, the Upper Yarra and the Dandenong Ranges. My community has experienced our fair share of significant weather events and disasters, from the 2009 Black Saturday bushfires to the June 2021 storms that ravaged the Dandenong Ranges, causing significant damage to homes, businesses and properties.

It is in the aftermath of these events, while residents are facing the burden of rebuilding or cleaning up, that the true value of insurance becomes clear. Insurance is not just a financial product or line item within a household's budget; it is the safety net for families and local businesses for when the unthinkable happens. It is one of the key issues raised with me by many residents in my community, in particular the pressures they are feeling around rising insurance premiums and the challenge of finding suitable coverage.

Under Labor, the cost of insurance has increased by 43.3 per cent, adding immense pressure to local families and local businesses. To better understand these challenges, I recently hosted an online community insurance information webinar with CEO of the Insurance Council of Australia Andrew Hall. We also visited local businesses in Olinda and held a roundtable sit-down to discuss some of the biggest challenges locals are facing.

Thank you to the Big Heart Cafe, Victor Alexandre Design, Tea Leaves, Olinda Cellars, and Rubies and Rust for taking the time to speak to us about their experiences and challenges with insurance. Sitting down with a group of industry professionals at Dudleys of Olinda was an important insight into the need for resilience and disaster mitigation in our area, something that I have championed since my first speech.

What we learned was confronting. There is only a handful of insurers willing to provide coverage for at-risk areas in my community, while insurance premiums continue to rise, making it harder and harder for locals to afford appropriate insurance products and coverage. I thank Andrew and the Insurance Council for their guidance on what steps residents can take to help reduce their premiums, including shopping around and completing a self-assessment on the new bushfire rating app by the Resilient Building Council.

I look forward to continuing these important discussions with our community and with the Insurance Council of Australia as we look to ensure all locals can have the insurance coverage they need. We unfortunately know, living in our community, it's not a matter of if but when the next disaster strikes.