Insurance companies have been put on notice by Natural Disaster and Emergency Management Minister David Littleproud after he accused them of playing "chicken" with state and federal governments in order not to pay out money.
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Mr Littleproud was speaking during at visit to the bushfire damaged Eden chip mill site on Wednesday, January 22.
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"The Australian taxpayer is not the ultimate insurance company in this, it is the insurance companies that have contractural obligations that have to get moving and they are playing a game of chicken at the moment
"What they are trying to do is wait out - 'wait out and we'll force the Australian govenrment, the Australian taxpayer to front up rather than us live up to our contractural obligations'," Minister Littleproud said.
These insurance companies are making good money and it's time they showed their product is actually worth something.
- Natural Disaster and Emergency Management Minister David Littleproud
He warned that those workers who indirectly rely on the chip mill could be at risk from insurance companies delaying payment.
"While the workers here (at the chip mill) are starting to come back in the clean up there's also a lot of those contractors outside the fence that still have an uncertain future because of the way insurance companies are playing the game. So it's important they start to live up to their responsibilities," he said.
"These insurance companies are making good money and it's time they showed their product is actually worth something," Minister Littleproud said.
If they're not careful we're going square up with them because they are holding up and putting in jeopardy the livelihoods of many Australians.
- Natural Disaster and Emergency Management Minister David Littleproud
"If they're not careful we're going square up with them because they are holding up and putting in jeopardy the livelihoods of many Australians," he warned.
The Minister said that insurance companies would do a lot of reputational damage to themselves if they didn't start to stump up.
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"Even the banks are prepared to step up," the Minister said in a reference to the banks' poor reputation and suggested it was time insurance companies showed they had a social conscience.
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"When insurance companies don't play nice it has a ripple effect right through these communities. These are very delicate economies that are intertwinned not only on tourism and industry and if they're not all firing that has a ripple effect through the community. Investment dries up and people can lose their jobs," Minister Littleproud said.
He said that federal and state governments were "putting a lot of momey on the table" and insurance companies should not shirk their responsibility otherwise the government would "square up with them" and "make sure we go after them".