THE lucky country appears to have an unlucky record when it comes to natural disasters. Almost every two years we record either massive bush-fires (2009 and 2013 in Victoria and NSW) or severe floods (2011 and 2013 in Queensland) which have all caused loss of lives and substantial loss of property and businesses.
Insurance compensates some for these losses, but many have to rebuild their lives and possessions out of savings, government and charitable grants and family support.
Surely this demonstrates a strong case for a form of natural disaster levy or tax to be paid by the community and accumulated in a fund for these occasions of desperate need.
There is a simple and fair way to do it. Apply the levy (say an average of $50) a property to the annual rates bill and collect it via local government. On the basis we have about 5 million properties in Australia, the levy would raise about $250 million annually and go some way to assisting those people who lose so much.