John Howard (Bennelong, Liberal Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Hansard source

Today is the first anniversary of Cyclone Larry, which devastated Innisfail and other parts of Far North Queensland. In the condolence motion debate earlier we spoke of the remarkable capacity of emergency services in this country to come together—to come together without fuss and to come together in a spontaneous manner. This certainly proved to be the case in the wake of Cyclone Larry. The response of the local community, the extraordinary cooperation between the Commonwealth and Queensland governments and the rapid integration of the relief services is something of which the entire nation, particularly those affected by the cyclone, can be proud. I acknowledge the cooperative way in which the Queensland Premier worked with me and also the local government bodies and the two local members—the member for Leichhardt and the member for Kennedy.

I also pay tribute to the extraordinary leadership once again displayed by General Peter Cosgrove, who was appointed head of the Operation Recovery task force. He demonstrated that remarkable capacity he illustrated in his earlier calling to bring Australians of all walks of life together in a purposeful, cooperative effort.

I should record that the total contribution of the Commonwealth government to the relief of the impact of Cyclone Larry has been $277 million. It is an extraordinary sum of money. It is an illustration of the extent of the devastation. It is also an illustration of the appropriate—I stress ‘appropriate’—generosity of the arrangements which have been put in place by the Commonwealth government in these matters. That $277 million involved $236 million provided directly to affected communities in Far North Queensland, $40 million advanced to the Queensland government under the natural disaster relief arrangements and a $1.1 contribution to the Prime Minister’s and Premier’s Cyclone Larry relief appeal.

Finally, and most importantly, I pay tribute to the spirit, the resilience, the sense of hope and the optimism of the local community, so typical of the great capacity of Australians to pick themselves up and bounce back in the face of great challenges and great adversity.

In marking the first anniversary of Cyclone Larry, I draw attention to the terrible devastation caused by tropical Cyclone George earlier this month around Port Hedland in Western Australia. Tragically, three people died in this cyclone: Craig Raabe, Debra Till and Sydney Baker. We extend our condolences to their friends, to their families and to their workmates.

The Australian government has activated financial payments to help those who have lost their homes due to Cyclone George. To date, about 340 people have applied for this assistance and Centrelink is working to deliver it quickly to those in greatest need. As I indicated in a discussion with the Premier of Western Australia, Mr Alan Carpenter, the Commonwealth government stands ready to help the Western Australian government through the longstanding natural disaster relief and recovery arrangements. Once again, the spirit of the local community has been remarkable and underlines the great capacity of Australians to respond to and recover from these natural adversities.

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