Power to declare national emergency

The proposed laws enable the Governor-General to make the declaration, on the advice of the Prime Minister, for emergencies, including bushfires and floods.

The move is a recommendation from the Royal Commission into National Natural Disaster Arrangements.

Attorney-General Christian Porter said the move would ensure communities received help and support during a crisis.

“This means swift action can be taken at a national level to deal with rapidly developing emergencies, particularly in situations where a state or territory is incapacitated or overwhelmed by events,” Mr Porter said.

For a declaration to be made, the emergency must be likely to cause nationally significant harm to people, the environment and property including infrastructure or disruption to an essential service.

Once an emergency is declared, resources including the Australian Defence Force will be quickly mobilised to assist state and territory services.

It will also enable the Prime Minister to require commonwealth entities to report on stockpiles, resources and response options and require telecommunications companies to help with sending emergency alerts.

Red tape could also be cut by ministers where doing so would help disaster-affected communities get access to services, such as disaster payments.

“Emergency declarations will be limited to a maximum of three months, with extensions possible if the initial justification for the declaration continues to exist,” Mr Porter said.

“If another emergency arises that warrants making an emergency declaration, the declaration could be varied to respond appropriately to that challenge.”

The 579-page bushfire royal commission report also included recommendations to speed up the introduction of a nationally consistent disaster warning system, develop air quality forecasting capabilities and share data and technology more effectively between governments.