First of all, what is the South East Councils Climate Change Alliance (SECCCA) and why is it so important for us to be a part of?
SECCCA is a south-east regional climate action alliance that helps Councils to foster collaboration, resource-share and provides proactive strategies to mitigate the growing impacts of climate change. It has delivered outstanding success in reducing carbon emissions, building climate resilience, and supporting Councils with the expertise and resources we simply don’t have on our own. Across Melbourne, almost every council is a member of their broader environmental climate body because it is well understood that climate action cannot be done in isolation.
With the demand for community resilience programs, like flood mapping, evacuation planning, and local risk assessments, growing exponentially, projects such as the Resilient Communities Project and Net Zero Community Emissions Roadmap, illustrate the tangible benefits of remaining in the alliance. In Greater Dandenong, projects such as the following are instrumental in protecting and minimising harm to our community: mapping urban heat islands, developing shared EV charging infrastructure to eliminate recharging blackspots and support local tourism, and working with our business sector to protect them from climate-related disruptions and financial loss.
SECCCA also does a lot in the advocacy space, such as through their submissions and meetings with the government to advocate for state and federal policy changes in our region. A most recent example was the state-wide advocacy for improved building codes last year with MP Tanya Plibersek.
The generational divide in the SECCCA vote is a striking reflection on how climate action is perceived across different age groups.
When Cr Phillip Danh and Cr Melinda Yim voted in opposition of the motion to withdraw from SECCCA, I felt a sense of solidarity and then I realised something. The only Councillors that voted to remain in SECCCA were all under 30. And I think this speaks to the priorities of the younger generations and its importance. We are the ones who will inherit the long-term consequences of climate change and we are the ones that recognise the urgency of sustained, collaborative efforts, such as with SECCCA, to mitigate its impact.
It’s about lived experience and the weight of future consequences. As young leaders, we are pushing for proactive climate policies because we know we’ll be the ones dealing with greater fallout if action like this is delayed. Our vote to remain in SECCCA underscores a generational shift towards prioritising sustainability, resilience, and long-term environmental responsibility.
As Councillors, we should understand that regional cooperation is essential for meaningful climate resilience. Yet the decision to withdraw was driven largely by concerns over cost-effectiveness and the perceived relevance of SECCCA projects to Greater Dandenong. These are legitimate considerations, especially in the face of tight budgets and competing local priorities. However, these concerns should be worked through at the SECCCA Management Committee – quitting is not an option.
By withdrawing, we are just passing the buck down the line. Climate-related disasters strain public infrastructure, requiring more frequent repairs and upgrades to roads, drainage systems, power lines, emergency facilities, and so forth.
But there is also value beyond immediate financial considerations. We are seeing the forest for the trees when we need to be focusing instead on the broader impact of collective climate initiatives and the role of inter-council collaboration in driving meaningful change. This generational divide mirrors broader trends in climate discourse.
The under-30 councillors who voted to remain in SECCCA reflect a growing movement of younger decision-makers who see climate action as an essential, non-negotiable responsibility. Our push for continued involvement in SECCCA highlights a future-focused approach – one that acknowledges that climate challenges require collective effort, not just solitary action.
There is a necessity of sustained regional action in addressing climate challenges and while individual council initiatives are important like increased tree planting and local tree protection laws, the larger-scale impact of alliances like SECCCA plays a crucial role in creating meaningful change across municipalities.
The false dichotomy of voting to withdraw from a regional alliance like SECCCA and working on climate action at a local level lies in the misconception that these approaches are mutually exclusive. In reality, both local initiatives and regional collaborations are essential and complementary in addressing climate challenges effectively.
Victoria State Emergency Service (VICSES) recognises the climate issues in our areas.
As per the VICSES, “High Intensity, short duration rainfall events are the primary concern for the area of Greater Dandenong. Heavy rainfall run-off can cause creek levels to rise, causing the creek to overflow. These types of events can lead to flooding in low lying areas.”
With climate-driven intensification of storms and floods, State Emergency Services Australia-wide are struggling with higher call-out volumes, more frequent major incidents, and escalating response costs. This is not just a local issue, and I mention this because Council suggests we can tackle climate at a local level. In the last two years, I have been part of regional and interstate deployments as a VICSES volunteer. Most recently, I was deployed to Ballarat to assist with the Grampians bushfires as base camp support and the year before was to Queensland to assist local emergency services with flood and storm response efforts from the 2023 Christmas weather events.
But you do not have to be an active SES volunteer to bear witness to the increasing frequency of weather events, rising temperatures, and the environmental degradation threatening our future and our childrens’ futures. Without coordinated efforts, the growing burden on individual agencies like VICSES will continue to escalate, stretching resources and response capabilities. We are treating these services as reactive measures to the problem, rather than tackling the root cause. This is not sustainable.
The rising costs and dangers of extreme weather reinforce the urgency of collaborative climate action, making alliances like SECCCA critical to both emergency management and long-term resilience.
For those who see climate change as a cost to our Council – we will be paying this cost somewhere else down the line and at an even greater level.
New data commissioned by the Climate Council (an independent, community funded organisation) compiled by Climate valuation (a private company that provides risk analysis to property owners), notes that based on total risk, approximately:
- 1.3% of properties in Keysborough will be unaffordable or impossible to insure by 2050.
- 1 in 50 properties in Noble Park and Dandenong will be unaffordable or impossible to insure in 25 years time. In Dandenong South, this will be 1 in 20 properties.
The rising unaffordability of insurance will impact both households and businesses, and many will choose to under-insure or even not insure if they are given the option, purely due to costs.
Many insurance companies are already not offering insurance for high-risk areas like Shepparaton, or the premiums are ludicrously beyond reach. In Shepparton, the Council had its assets insured for $20M. After the 2022 floods? A coverage of only $2M. Insurance companies will quietly walk away from this problem, just like Council is with its withdrawal motion, and the person left holding the bag will be the homeowner and our residents.
For those who are non-ratepayers or young people who are struggling with the cost-of-living and housing crisis, they will also feel these impacts of rising insurance. Whilst a majority of renters do not take out contents insurance, the ones that do will face increased premiums and may choose to forego or underinsure themselves. Landlords will also pass on the increase of their insurance to their tenants, making housing even less affordable than what it is already.
SECCCA’s initiatives will help councils save money in the long run by mitigating climate-related damages. The Insurance Council of Australia states that ‘targeting climate change is the single greatest solution to home insurance affordability for households most impacted by natural peril risks.’ So why not tackle it now through both local measures and regional alliances?
All estimates emphasise the urgent need for greater cooperation, collaboration, and investment to meaningfully protect our communities. Withdrawing from alliances like SECCCA is a significant step backward at a critical time when we must better effectively use our resources to tackle climate change.
And while Climate change does not respect borders, Greater Dandenong is one of the most disadvantaged municipalities in Victoria, and therefore we will be disproportionately affected by climate change. We are kicking the can down the road and hoping for a solution, without looking at how we change these underlying risks in collaboration with other Councils.
Whether or not you believe climate change exists, these weather events are happening and the impacts are tremendous, not just to those in Dandenong South where 1 in 20 homes will be uninsurable or one of the residents in Willow Lodge, Bangholme, where their home stood in floodwaters last year. Ultimately, everyone ends up paying for it.
APPENDIX
In November last year, Impact of Climate Risk on Insurance Premiums and Availability report was released to the Parliament, with some excerpts below:
- “Many submitters told the committee that over the last few years, they have experienced rising insurance costs for their homes and businesses. For some, these costs have doubled or even tripled over a short period. Costs are so prohibitive that some people are either not taking out insurance at all, underinsuring or taking out insurance and foregoing other necessities including healthcare.”
- The South West Queensland Regional Organisation of Councils told the committee that the ‘spiralling costs of insurance premiums are acting as a barrier to progressing regional development goals’.
- In relation to household insurance Councillor Steve Krieg, Mayor of Lismore City Council, submitted that ‘insurance is probably the biggest roadblock to the Northern Rivers recovery’ following the 2022 floods. He advised that, two and a half years since the floods, there are still people waiting on insurance outcomes forced to reside in unliveable houses.
- Councillor Shaun Radnedge, Mayor of Murweh Shire Council, gave similar evidence about the impact on families of the cost of insurance: Our concern within council is that our most vulnerable residents will be the most impacted. We are seeing retirees who have worked all their whole lives, paid tax, paid off their homes and raised a family having to abandon their insurance premiums and are fully exposed to being left destitute if tragedy strikes. We are seeing families whose insurance premiums are higher than the house mortgage. We are seeing young people and families not being able to take out a housing loan because of the cost of insurance. Small businesses are facing extreme insurance costs and are not able to insure their buildings and stock. The cost of insurance is causing landlords to exit the rental market with little or no returns on investment after the fixed costs like insurance rates and repairs are deducted.
- the Actuaries Institute reported that older Australians, retirees, renters, those who have lower insurance literacy, people who live in socioeconomically disadvantaged areas and have lower savings balances are most impacted.
- the National Insurance Brokers Association (NIBA) told the committee: The burden of rising insurance premiums is not evenly distributed across communities. The paradox of insurance is that those who are most impacted by natural perils are least likely to be able to afford to protect themselves from the effects of such events. Rising unaffordability and unavailability of insurance have the potential to further exacerbate existing inequalities by trapping vulnerable populations in high-risk areas and exposing them to greater social harm.
Insurance companies are the canaries in the coal mines when it comes to climate change. To quote a few statements from Allianz Global board member, Gunther Thallinger:
- These extreme weather phenomena drive direct physical risks to all categories of human-owned assets—land, houses, roads, power lines, railways, ports, and factories. Heat and water destroy capital. Flooded homes lose value. Overheated cities become uninhabitable. Entire asset classes are degrading in real time, which translates to loss of value, business interruption, and market devaluation on a systemic level
- The insurance industry has historically managed these risks. But we are fast approaching temperature levels—1.5°C, 2°C, 3°C—where insurers will no longer be able to offer coverage for many of these risks. The math breaks down: the premiums required exceed what people or companies can pay. This is already happening. Entire regions are becoming uninsurable. (See: State Farm and Allstate exiting California’s home insurance market due to wildfire risk, 2023).
- If insurance is no longer available, other financial services become unavailable too. A house that cannot be insured cannot be mortgaged. No bank will issue loans for uninsurable property. Credit markets freeze. This is a climate-induced credit crunch.
- This applies not only to housing, but to infrastructure, transportation, agriculture, and industry. The economic value of entire regions—coastal, arid, wildfire-prone—will begin to vanish from financial ledgers. Markets will reprice, rapidly and brutally. This is what a climate-driven market failure looks like.
- Covering the cost of three or four major wildfires or floods in a single year strains public budgets to the limit. If multiple high-cost events happen within short time spans—as climate projections expect—then no government can realistically cover the damages without either austerity or collapse. (See: Germany’s €30B flood relief in 2021; Australia’s rising disaster relief costs 2020–2023).
- There is no way to “adapt” to temperatures beyond human tolerance. There is limited adaptation to megafires, other than not building near forests. Whole cities built on flood plains cannot simply pick up and move uphill. And as temperatures continue to rise, adaptation itself becomes economically unviable.
Climate Council Report
A recommendation from Climate Council’s ‘Neighbourhood issue: climate costs and risk to councils’ report included “Encourage and resource regional collaborations between councils to address climate change… All state and territory governments should ensure mechanisms and funding exists for the creation and ongoing work of cross-council alliances, such as the Greenhouse Alliances in Victoria which have been internationally recognised as a best practice governance model (CVGA 2019).”