Details were released today on the federal government’s new Insurance Affordability and Natural Hazards Risk Reduction Taskforce, but Assistant Treasurer Stephen Jones declined to comment on whether a flood pool or subsidies will be considered.

insuranceNEWS.com.au revealed the establishment of the taskforce last week, as the Insurance Council of Australia confirmed its stance that a “partnership arrangement” with government is needed to tackle insurance affordability concerns.

CEO Andrew Hall says discussions with members are ongoing, and while mitigation remains the long-term solution, options such as a flood pool and direct subsidies are being discussed.

Mr Jones told insuranceNEWS.com.au today that reducing risk is “the only enduring solution and that’s where the majority of effort has to go”.

There might be other measures required, but he would not give an opinion on what they could be.

“From the government’s point of view, if there are near-term measures that have been identified that get us some easy and quick wins, then we’d be crazy not to look at them and implement them as soon as possible,” he said.

“We’ve set up a taskforce. I’m not going to prejudge an outcome before the taskforce has got busy on its job. Let the taskforce do its work and then we’ll consider the recommendations.”

Asked specifically about a flood pool and subsidies, he said: “There are no government decisions on any of that sort of stuff. I’m not going to be drawn on it. We’ve just delivered the budget, we’re not going to be rewriting it within three weeks.”

A media release today describes the taskforce as an “integrated, cross-government approach to minimising the impacts of disaster on the community and [helping] address insurance costs driven by more frequent and intense weather events.

“Different Australian government agencies play a role in reducing natural hazard risk and the taskforce will work closely with these agencies to ensure a comprehensive, whole-of-government approach on a range of issues.”

These issues include:

• Community-level risk reduction
• Hazard risk reduction
• Economic impacts of underinsurance
• Standardising natural hazard definitions
• Other near-term solutions to improve affordability

The taskforce will be led by the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet “in order to co-ordinate a whole-of-economy view of the issues impacting insurance affordability and solutions to reduce risk from natural hazards”.