Over 150 submissions have been received for the Recent trends in and preparedness for extreme weather events and they’re still coming. No doubt the recent bushfires and floods have intensified interest in the inquiry. I have doubts that the inquiry will be able to report by its current deadline of 20 March. Likewise I suspect that more hearings might be added to the three that have been currently announced.

The submissions include those from:

• Professor Neville Nicholls (one of the most esteemed researchers on the topic of climate change and natural hazards)
• Risk Frontiers
• Dr Michael Eburn (who has particular experience in emergency law – check out his blog here)
• The Insurance Council of Australia
• Australian Psychological Society
• The Wentworth Group of Concerned Scientists
• Master Builders Australia
• Australasian Fire and Emergency Service Authorities Council (AFAC)
• National Climate Change Adaptation Research Facility (NCCARF)
• Climate and Health Alliance
• ARC Centre of Excellence for Climate System Science
• Griffith Centre for Coastal Management
• Centre for Risk and Community Safety
• Commonwealth Attorney-General’s Department
• Bureau of Meteorology
• Department of Broadband, Communications and the Digital Economy
• Surf Life Saving Australia
• Bushfire CRC
• Australian Meteorological and Oceanographic Society
• Professor David King, Centre for Disaster Studies, James Cook University
• Australian Medical Association
• The Climate Institute
• Commonwealth Department of Human Services
• Australian Academy of Science
• Australian Red Cross
• Commonwealth Department of Health and Aging
• Engineers Australia
• Australian Council of Social Services
• PricewaterhouseCoopers

With the exception of the NT Government I note the distinct lack of any submission from State or Territory Government Agencies.

On the other hand a number of local governments have made submissions including Townsville, Melbourne, Tablelands Regional, Brisbane and the local government associations of WA and QLD.

My submission can be found here. It’s an edited version of the 6 blog articles I posted on the inquiry but has some updated references and numbers. Here’s the original posts:

• Part 1
• Part 2
• Part 3
• Part 4
• Part 5
• Part 6

The inquiry has also gotten quite a bit of media attention. Here’s a round up (of the content not behind a paywall):

• Townsville Bulletin, 5 February – Handouts are for a hand-up
• ScienceInsider, 5 February – In Australia, Record Weather Fuels Climate Policy Process
• Adelaide Advertiser, 3 February – Ban new houses in high-risk zones or premiums will go up, insurance companies say
• Sydney Morning Herald, 2 February – Hottest year start keeps climate change in spotlight
• News.com.au, 30 January – Ill-prepared, fat Aussies under threat from extreme weather
• The Age, 30 January – Heat on O’Farrell and Newman, say Greens
• Adelaide Advertiser, 25 January – Study finds more frequent heatwaves ‘will kill hundreds’ in Adelaide
• The Age, 25 January – High price of Melbourne’s hot weather
• Crikey, 25 January – As our future heats up, how well prepared is the health sector?
• Brisbane Times, 23 January – Queensland ‘under-prepared’ for storm surges
• The Age, 22 January – Walkers list risks of global warming
• The Age, 19 January – Extreme weather to put strain on disaster services
• New Matilda, 17 January – Are We Ready For More Extreme Weather?
• Crikey, 15 January (longer version) – Senate inquiry looks at Australia’s extreme weather and asks if we’re ready
• The Australian, 11 January – Govt at disaster insurance crossroads
• The Age, 6 January – Extreme weather deadly for the vulnerable