Regional sector 5: Council assets and services

Regional sector 5: Council assets and services

Risk themeRisk exampleCouncil and community servicesIncreased

Risk theme	Risk example
Council and community services	Increased pressure on council health, emergency management and recovery services (particularly for larger towns) in extreme climate events Pressure on public spaces used as a heat refuge Temporary closure of services due to excessive heat (e.g. schools, outdoor workers) Loss in Council rates / revenue and greater pressure on rebate schemes particularly due to property impacts from sea level rise and industry impacts from temperature and precipitation changes Accelerate movement of populations from rural to regional towns due to impacts from temperature and precipitation changes
Community health and wellbeing	Negative health impacts, particularly on the elderly, immobile and remote communities, from heat stress, dehydration and potential mental health issues and pressure on services Less recreational/social activity in hot and dry weather and pressure on recreational services Isolation of communities during floods and coastal inundation and pressure on services Decrease in potable water (e.g. contamination of aquifer supplies or less rainfall captured in water tanks) Potential loss of employment opportunities and changes to local community viability due to industry impacts from temperature and precipitation changes Negative hygiene impacts from blocked sewerage systems and contamination of water sources from pollution
Natural and built assets and infrastructure	Stress on critical infrastructure (e.g. water and electricity supply) due to peak demand in extreme heat events cascading impacts to council infrastructure Stress on critical council infrastructure (low lying) due to sea level rise Increase in the costs of maintenance and repair of Council assets (e.g. water for gravel roads; cracking of road surfaces; cracking in buildings, bridges, piers, jetties, stormwater facilities and buildings) Coastal cliff erosion and loss of council tourist and other assets Loss of residential and commercial properties through fire or coastal inundation and consequent rebuilding costs for properties and associated infrastructure
Energy and water pricing	Increase in energy and water prices for council due to increase demand in extreme heat event
Local economic development	Decline in agricultural activity and productivity due to increased temperatures with fall in yields, and animal weight gain from lower land viability leading to cascading impact on community resilience Changed nature of agricultural activity (e.g. shift from grazing to cropping, or dairying to cropping) and decline in forestry due to increased temperatures and decreased precipitation leading to cascading impact on community resilience Decline in tourism from degradation of ecotourism assets and accommodation due to sea level rise and storm surge leading to lost income for councils Increase in cost of emergency response including pressure on council services in extreme events Displacement of local businesses from a range of changing climate conditions leading to cascading impact on community resilience Greater pressure on local festivals and events run by council due to temperature increases
Local and regional ecosystems	Reductions in environmental water flows due to reduced precipitation and consequent negative impacts on habitats for flora and fauna species in council reserves Loss of wetlands due to reduced precipitation Soil erosion due to increased temperatures and loss of amenity on council land Loss of native flora and increase in invasive species and disease (loss of biodiversity) due to a range of changing climate conditions Increase in bushfire intensity and frequency; loss of habitats and increase in salinity Inundation of coastal areas due to sea level rise and reduced capacity of council drainage network and increased potential pollution of waterways from septic contamination

Table 22: Climate risk statements - council assets and services

Regional sector 4: Industry

Regional sector 6: Infrastructure

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