The City of Hobart has passed a motion calling on the Federal Government to establish a National Climate Compensation Fund, funded through a levy on major coal, oil and gas corporations, to cover the soaring costs of worsening climate disasters being borne by local councils and communities across Australia.
Dr Zelinda Sherlock, City of Hobart Deputy Lord Mayor, who moved the motion, said “The City of Hobart is proud to support a Climate Compensation Fund paid for by a levy on polluting export corporations. Into the future, council budgets will feel the structural challenge of increased costs of repairing roads, upgrading stormwater infrastructure and preparing our communities for the next disasters. It’s a much fairer outcome for polluters to pay for the damage they’ve already caused than for our communities to pay through rate rises.”
Nationally, fires, floods and cyclones cost Australia $38 billion per year, equivalent to $3,800 per household, with 434 of Australia’s 537 councils impacted by climate-fuelled disasters between 2019 and 2023. The Australia Institute has found that insured losses from climate-related disasters have risen more than twelve times in twenty years, while local government revenues have grown only three times over the same period.
“Councils across the country are crying out for increased funding to manage increased costs associated with emergency management and adaptation. Just last week, the City of Hobart supported a similar motion at the Australian Local Government Association general assembly in Canberra, which passed unanimously. A Climate Compensation Fund would have a dedicated funding stream for councils to continue to provide the critical infrastructure and services our communities rely on, but critically, would not just be funded by taxpayers — but by the polluters causing the problem,” said Cr Sherlock.
Hobart faces the triple threats of bushfires, storms and floods. The Bureau of Meteorology has confirmed that a strong to very strong El Niño is underway, raising the risk of a difficult fire season ahead, while the city’s recent unusually long period of high winds and storms remains fresh in the community’s memory.
Susan Hoult, Hobart resident who has been working with Council on this motion, said “Hobart is a city that is prone to the dual threats of damaging storms and bushfires. As we transition into a super El Niño period with heightened bushfire risk, with the memory of recent storms and high winds still fresh, we are reminded of the costs of both climate damage and adaptation to our community. When the costs to livelihoods, wellbeing and household finances of climate change and damages are already rising, we think that it is the polluters that are causing this crisis that should pay their fair share — not our community.
“We’ve been out talking to people on the streets about cost of living and climate change and overwhelmingly, people support polluters, rather than residents, paying. People say ‘if you make a mess, you should clean it up.’ The same applies to big polluters. It’s the simple, fair thing to do.” said Ms Hoult.
The motion calls on the Federal Government to establish a Parliamentary Inquiry into the adequacy of the 2025 National Adaptation Plan, create a dedicated funding stream for local governments that matches the scale of financial risks identified in the 2025 National Climate Risk Assessment, and introduce a Climate Pollution Levy on coal, oil and gas export corporations.
Dr Sherlock said “City of Hobart wants to be part of the solution to this structural funding problem and ensure that we can continue to meet our own climate resilience goals, without putting a financial burden on ratepayers, who are already feeling the pinch of increasing insurance premiums and grocery bills associated with climate change.”
The motion makes the City of Hobart one of a growing number of councils across Australia to formally back the Communities for Climate Compensation campaign, which is calling on the Federal Government to make big polluters contribute to fixing the harm their pollution causes, rather than leaving councils, ratepayers and households to foot the bill.
MEDIA CONTACT: Sean Kennedy, Senior Media Advisor, Climate Media Centre — 0447 121 378 — [email protected]
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BACKGROUND
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The City of Hobart passed [MOTION NUMBER xxx] — [MOTION TITLE xxx] — at its meeting on [DATE xxx].
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The City of Hobart also supported the City of Sydney’s motion on national climate adaptation funding and accountability at the Australian Local Government Association (ALGA) National General Assembly in Canberra, 23–25 June 2026.
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The Bureau of Meteorology has confirmed that El Niño is underway in the tropical Pacific, with forecasts pointing towards a strong to very strong event. Waters along the eastern Tasmania coast are running around 3 to 4°C above average (Bureau of Meteorology, June 2026).
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The Communities for Climate Compensation campaign is calling on the Federal Government to establish a National Climate Compensation Fund, financed through a levy on major coal, oil and gas corporations, to fund disaster recovery, infrastructure repair and community resilience.
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Fires, floods and cyclones currently cost Australia $38 billion per year — equivalent to $3,800 per household — rising to $73 billion projected by 2060.
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434 of Australia’s 537 councils were impacted by climate-fuelled disasters between 2019 and 2023.
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The insured costs of climate-related disasters have risen more than twelve times in twenty years, while local government revenue has grown only three times over the same period (Australia Institute, 2025).
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Federal and state governments provide approximately $14.9 billion annually in fossil fuel subsidies — more than 14 times the nation’s $4.75 billion disaster response fund (Australia Institute, 2025).
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Santos reported ten consecutive years of zero corporate tax payments to 2024–25, despite $47 billion in sales.
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Coal, oil and gas corporations are responsible for three quarters of Australia’s climate pollution.
Contact details:
Sean Kennedy, Senior Media Advisor, Climate Media Centre — 0447 121 378 — [email protected]
