August 27
Randwick City Council has joined a national push for a Climate Compensation Fund to help keep the community safe, resilient and financially secure as the council faces the rising costs of extreme weather, flooding, and coastal erosion intensified by climate change.
The council passed the “Protecting Randwick City Council Ratepayers Through Sustainable Climate Funding” motion at its Ordinary Council meeting on Tuesday 25 August 2026. The motion calls on the Federal Government to establish a National Climate Compensation Fund to support communities, households and local governments with the costs of climate adaptation, resilience and disaster recovery. It would provide a reliable funding stream for councils to prepare for and respond to extreme weather events like flooding, coastal erosion and storm surges. The Fund would be resourced through a Climate Pollution Levy on major coal, gas and oil export corporations, reflecting the contribution the burning of fossil fuels has made to climate change.
Deputy Mayor Cr Clare Willington, who moved the motion, said:
“We're already living with the cost of climate change on our doorstep. Last September's storms sent flash flooding through Anzac Parade and Moore Park Road and stranded light rail passengers, while our beaches and foreshore are facing more frequent battering from coastal erosion and storm surge. Every time, it's our community and our ratepayers who absorb the cost of the clean-up.
“My fellow councillors have voted for fairness. The big polluters driving climate change should help pay to protect the communities bearing the brunt of it.”
Nationally, the gap the Fund is designed to close is stark. Insured losses from climate disasters have risen more than 12 times in twenty years, while local government revenue has grown only three times over the same period. Fires, floods and cyclones already cost Australia $38 billion a year, a figure projected to reach $73 billion annually by 2060.
Dr John Carr, Senior Lecturer in Environment & Society at UNSW, and Randwick Council resident, said:
“When a council like Randwick has to pay for climate disaster response out of its own budget, that's effectively a subsidy to the coal, oil and gas export corporations whose pollution is driving the damage.
“A Climate Pollution Levy corrects that. It makes these corporations internalise the real cost of their pollution, instead of pushing it onto local councils and ratepayers. And when an industry has to internalise the actual cost of its production, it has a genuine incentive to reduce that cost – in this case, to reduce the pollution causing the damage in the first place. It's a win for councils, a win for a fair energy market, and a win for reducing emissions before the damage occurs.”
The motion makes Randwick 11th in a growing number of councils backing the Communities for Climate Compensation campaign, building on earlier wins at City of Sydney, City of Parramatta, and Bayside councils. It also follows a unanimous vote by council representatives from across Australia in support of a Climate Compensation Fund at the Australian Local Government Association National General Assembly in June 2026.
MEDIA CONTACT: Laura Corrigan, Media Advisor, Climate Media Centre — 0423 690 152 — [email protected]
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Contact details:
Laura Corrigan, Media Advisor, Climate Media Centre — 0423 690 152 — [email protected]