A HUNTER mayor is one of 17 local government leaders who has called on the federal government to acknowledge the high costs to communities of extreme weather fueled by climate change.
Dungog mayor John Connors and Midcoast Council deputy mayor Claire Pontin are among signatories from NSW calling for the federal government to shift away from fossil fuels and toward cleaner technologies.
Neither of their council areas is a stranger to natural disaster.
Savage bushfires raced through parts of the Midcoast area in the 2019-2020 summer fires that left most of NSW scorched, while Dungog was left devastated after April 2015 floods that claimed three lives and lifted at least one house off its foundations in the surging torrents.
The Cities Power Partnership statement says that residents are endangered and councils left with "millions of dollars in clean-up costs".
"Schools and businesses have been forced to close, the lights have gone out, roads cut off, beaches washed away, and properties damaged," the joint statement says.
"We are exhausted by the immediate costs and challenges, and we are worried about what's to come.
"Extreme weather disasters used to occur every few years. Now, we are facing them every few months."
The Cities Power Partnership bills itself as the largest Australian network of local governments taking action on climate.
Director Dr Portia Odell said there was no time to waste.
"We can no longer leave it to vulnerable communities and local governments to spend millions to fix the damages of delay on climate action," Dr Odell said.
"The federal government must act urgently to phase out fossil fuels and instead invest in clean industries that create regional jobs and protect communities from costly climate shocks."
