<Deputy> Speaker, last week in the House I briefly highlighted the peril of communities faced in the southern part of my electorate of Mallee due to the ongoing impact of bushfire in the Grampians National Park and Little Desert National Park.

The first of these fires in the Grampians began 55 days ago, with the initial fire burning for three weeks near the 450-strong community of Halls Gap. The Grampians fire burned 76,000 hectares, destroying four homes to the south in Moyston and Mafeking, 41 outbuildings and 540 kilometres of fencing.  The fire also burned 10,053 hectares of pasture, 1285 beehives and killed 775 sheep – not to mention the incalculable cost to flora and fauna.   All up, including the subsequent Little Desert fire which burned the western two-thirds of that National Park, over 230,000 hectares have burned in the Grampians and Wimmera areas.

Communities near the Grampians National Park have been struck twice in twelve months by natural disaster, after a fire in February 2024 in Pomonal, Dadswells Bridge and Dunkeld destroyed 45 homes, costing the local economy an estimated $200 million and hundreds of thousands of tourists.

The late 2024 bushfires closed the town of Halls Gap to the public over the lucrative December/January peak tourist season for 18 days. Some tourist sites remain closed. Fire-related closures are having a cumulative, devastating impact on the Halls Gap community, whose small businesses are struggling to stay afloat and in desperate need of support.  I invited Leader of the Opposition Peter Dutton and Shadow Minister Perin Davey with the Member for Wannon to Halls Gap and they heard from constituents who tell me that “business owners are at breaking point” with many expressing a feeling of “abandoned by the government, as they continue to hear reassurances about resilience rather than tangible support”.

Spending in Halls Gap has dropped by 63 per cent since the fires began, compared to the same period last year. At the one-month mark, $13 million in business earnings had been lost. As the fires have persisted, as estimated further $8 million more has been lost. The Grampians typically attracts between 1.3 and 1.7 million visitors annually, however cancellations are now extending into May 2025. Projections suggest that an ongoing reduction in tourism will see total losses in the region of between $34 and $103 million over the year.

It is indisputable, Deputy Speaker, that businesses in Halls Gap are in dire need of government financial support. Yet, as of the end of last week, the Allan Labor government had still not requested Category D assistance from the Australian government, under its Disaster Recovery Funding Arrangements (DRFA), despite ongoing advocacy from all angles. Without this request from the Victorian government, Halls Gap businesses cannot access the maximum amount of funding for recovery from these devastating circumstances.

Insurance costs for some Halls Gap businesses have almost quadrupled since the Pomonal fires in February 2024, with one business paying $55,000 for public liability insurance which – even then - does not cover external fire and does not provide business interruption insurance.  There are 120 businesses that can’t get insurance in Halls Gap, even though there is no instance in history where fire has struck the Halls Gap township itself. I am working continuously with locals, the insurance industry and my Coalition colleagues to look at solutions to this emerging, wicked problem.

Under the Albanese Labor Government insurance costs across the nation have risen 18 per cent. These fires, combined with the impact of recent wildfires in Los Angeles on global reinsurance markets, may combine to push insurance premiums up further and make policies even less accessible. Insurance pricing requires accurate data regarding risks and mitigation strategies undertaken at the local level but in Victoria there is no transparency around the performance of Forest Fire Management Victoria (and other responsible agencies) against mitigation targets.

There is market failure in bushfire insurance for Halls Gap. As in other areas of public policy, market failure activates potential government intervention.

The Australian Reinsurance Pool Corporation was expanded in 2022 by the former Coalition government, to provide “insurance for insurers” of cyclone risk in northern Australia without the profit margin of the private market and with a risk guarantee provided by the government. While it is early days, there are signs the pool is starting to address its aims. It is time to look at this model in other Australian contexts.

The Grampians are home to grand and rugged mountain ranges, spectacular wildflower displays, and a wide range of outdoor recreational opportunities. Halls Gap is the heart of the Grampians.  All levels of Government need to prioritise opening and maintaining access to as much of the Grampians as possible to maximise the social and economic health of the region, as well making safe and repairing infrastructure in any areas of damage as a priority. Both the Albanese Labor government and Allan state Labor government must be held accountable for investing money and manpower to enable recovery of the tourism industry in the region.

The sustainability of small businesses in the Grampians is at imminent risk, with many considering whether they can afford to continue to keep their doors open and some already making the devastating decision to close. Mass business closures would have deleterious effects on these communities – we cannot allow this to happen to our rural communities.