Joint media release
- Senator the Hon Marise Payne, Minister for Foreign Affairs
- Senator the Hon Linda Reynolds CSC, Minister for Emergency Management and North Queensland Recovery, Minister for Defence Industry
Australia will host an international conference next year designed to enhance government understanding of disaster risks and strengthen the ability to respond to disasters across the Indo-Pacific.
The 2020 Asia Pacific Ministerial Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction will be held in Brisbane 23-26 June, 2020.
Hosting this conference will provide an opportunity to share Australian experiences as well as learn from our neighbours who face similar challenges, increasing our collective understanding of disaster risks. Working together will help us to save lives, minimise economic loss and ensure no one is left behind during a disaster.
Our region has a high incidence of natural disasters. In 2018, seven of the ten countries with the highest disaster-related deaths were in the Indo-Pacific.
As Australians, we are used to dealing with the disruption and devastation caused by disasters. We are pleased to partner with the Queensland Government to host this important conference.
The last six months alone have brought tropical cyclones, bushfires and devastating flooding to Queensland. We will be pleased to show the world the work that the Australian and Queensland Governments are doing in North Queensland to rebuild essential assets and assist communities in getting back on their feet.
We will be proud to share our experiences with partners from across the region.
The 2020 conference will bring together government, business, researchers and communities to discuss action on reducing the humanitarian, economic and environmental costs of disasters in our region.
