Philip Ruddock (Berowra, Liberal Party, Attorney-General) Share this | Hansard source

by leave—I move:

That this House acknowledge the terrible impact that Cyclone Larry has had on the residents of far north Queensland and recognise the efforts and contributions of those communities, and of governments, to restore normal life to the region.

I know I speak for all members when I recall the shock and dismay that we have all experienced this past week at the previously unimaginable scenes of devastation in Far North Queensland left in the wake of tropical Cyclone Larry: the image of a banana farmer overlooking his plantation where not a single tree is left standing, the sight of homes completely destroyed or demolished. Hospitals, schools, businesses, sporting facilities and community centres—no structures escaped the wrath of this category 5 wind force cyclone as it swept across the coastline on Monday morning eight days ago.

The initial assessments that same day told the story. Situation reports estimated that 65 per cent of buildings in Innisfail had suffered structural damage, 100 per cent some form of damage. Those reports indicated that 90 per cent of the vegetation and 100 per cent of the banana crops in the area had been destroyed. It was not the severity of the damage to the infrastructure and long-term ramifications for the local economy that were immediately apparent in the aftermath of the tragedy; it was the untold human cost of a community reeling to come to grips with the force of nature that had changed their lives forever. No dollar figure could ever quantify the impact of such a devastating event upon a community, but when people emerged from what was left of their homes on Monday morning nothing could have prepared them for what they witnessed: their homes, their livelihoods and their communities flattened in one fell swoop. A tragedy of previously unimaginable scale unfolded in just a few short, horrifying hours.

The Australian government’s response was immediate and comprehensive, but no-one estimated the enormity of the task ahead. Torrential rain and extensive flooding after the initial event provided an additional level of complexity to the challenge of the recovery operation. With road access to the north and south of Innisfail cut off and the sodden Innisfail airstrip rendered incapable of accommodating heavy aircraft, smaller aircraft and landing aircraft were sourced to assist in moving large items and emergency supplies into the township.

The Australian Defence Force mobilised immediately, and more than 400 personnel continue to work closely with state and federal agencies to help devastated communities recover and rebuild. Defence assets deployed as part of the relief operation included seven Blackhawk helicopters, three Army Iroquois helicopters, one Army Chinook helicopter, two Navy Seahawk helicopters, one Navy landing craft and three C130 Hercules aircraft. A Combat Service Support Battalion set up at Innisfail Showgrounds, providing emergency support to the local population, including with the establishment of a water purification unit capable of producing 7,500 litres per hour, the distribution of 16,000 one-man ration packs and thousands of litres of bottled water, the establishment of a field kitchen for the preparation of fresh food for residents, the provision of a bath unit that can shower up to 120 persons per hour, and the capability to provide up to 500 beds and a primary health care support team and environmental health officers. There is no question that the Defence Force has been outstanding in its ability to respond quickly and effectively to this disaster.

Other agencies have responded admirably to the events and tragedies that emerged, to help communities get back on their feet in what are the most difficult of circumstances. Across all agencies it is clear that the Commonwealth stands ready to support the people of Far North Queensland. To date Emergency Management Australia has ensured that 35 formal requests have been acted upon by a total of 11 government agencies. After witnessing the devastation first hand, the Prime Minister announced that the government is providing a comprehensive package of direct financial assistance to people at this difficult time. In total, more than $100 million of assistance has been committed in relief payments. These will be largely delivered through Centrelink.

The Prime Minister today made further announcements about assistance that he first mentioned on Sunday, 26 March. He said in his statement to this House and also in a statement that he has issued formally that, while it remains open for people to submit receipts in relation to power, which we are seeking to have restored, he has determined administratively for a quicker and easier approach that anyone who states that they have used power for the purposes of power generation will be eligible for an excise relief payment backdated to the day of tropical Cyclone Larry. The payments made by Centrelink will be as follows: $280 per month where the household is without reliable electricity and $560 per month where the business is without reliable electricity. Those payments will be tax free, and the expectation is that the payments will begin to be made by Friday. I mention this matter because we continue to keep under review the arrangements that we have in place. Where we can enhance those further in a meaningful way, that will happen.

In addition to those matters mentioned by the Prime Minister, the Department of Transport and Regional Services is helping to meet the immediate personal hardship situations and distress costs through the advance of $40 million to Queensland under the natural disaster relief arrangements. Under these arrangements, concessional loans of up to $200,000 will be eligible to farmers and small businesses to help re-establish their enterprises. The Department of Industry, Tourism and Resources will assist by offering one-off, tax-free grants to help businesses with immediate restocking, replanting and clean-up activities. The clean-up and recovery operations require close cooperation of all government agencies across jurisdictions.

I was particularly briefed that the cyclone was imminent. I was aware of the steps that were being taken by Queensland to forewarn local residents. I have personal and family reasons for being conscious of those matters, because I had a daughter living in Cairns at the time and was, as any parent would be, in touch with her during this emergency.

I spoke immediately after it with Pat Purcell, the Queensland Minister for Emergency Services, and put in place arrangements with the agency that works to me, Emergency Management Australia, within hours of the cyclone crossing the coast. Emergency Management Australia had convened the Australian government Counter-Disaster Task Force to deal with requests for assistance from the Queensland government. The Prime Minister, as he has outlined, had contact with the Premier, and I, as I have already mentioned, had spoken with Pat Purcell, and in order to ensure that these matters worked as seamlessly as possible we continued that very close cooperation. Matters raised with me by Pat Purcell I actioned. We wanted to ensure that every step that the Commonwealth could take reasonably was implemented effectively and in a timely fashion.

I think this does reflect the major strength of our well-tried and tested cross-jurisdictional emergency management arrangements. It is all too easy, when looking at what has happened further afield where governments have to work together, to take for granted that governments here will be able to work collaboratively together. I have to say that it does not happen by accident. It is because we have put in place collaborative arrangements, involving the Commonwealth, states and local government through the cross-jurisdictional emergency management arrangements, that there is the capacity for governments to act quickly and effectively together. These arrangements recognise of course that operational decisions are often best made by state authorities, who are in the position to assess priorities of need on the ground, because that is where they are.

This is not to say that there were not unavoidable delays and that assistance in some cases was not received as quickly as we would have liked. Nevertheless, we were working on those matters immediately after the disaster struck. We understand the frustration of the local people and the difficulty and uncertainty they experienced in the immediate aftermath of the cyclone. Queenslanders, and I am sure the member for Leichhardt and the member for Herbert, will tell particularly of the exploits of North Queenslanders. They are renowned for their resilience. It is a trait that we have seen from the population generally in the region in the past week in the face of extreme adversity. Communities have pulled together, neighbours have helped one another and so too have complete strangers. It is these endearing human qualities that remind us of what makes us as Australians, I think, unique in many respects.

I would like to thank people for their patience and their willingness to roll up their sleeves and get on with the job of cleaning up and rebuilding their towns and centres. I want to assure the people of Far North Queensland on behalf of the government that we will not forget you in these circumstances, and I suspect that with the former Chief of the Defence Force, Peter Cosgrove, at the helm of the recovery effort we will not be allowed to forget that this is a long-time challenge. The Australian government is in there for the long haul. We stand ready to continue to offer assistance wherever it is needed.

See this speech in context