James Bidgood (Dawson, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

I concur with all members of the House, particularly the members for Gippsland, Kennedy and Indi, in the condolences which we have expressed here today. All of us on both sides of the House stood in prayer on Monday with tears in our eyes. They were tears for the calamities that have befallen our nation in the north and in Victoria. It is at times like this that we stand as one people—one united Australia. I commend the Prime Minister, the Deputy Prime Minister, the Leader of the Opposition and the Deputy Leader of the Opposition for uniting as one great Australia to deal with these situations.

The Prime Minister sent the minister for small business, the member for Herbert and me north on Monday to give him an on the ground report of what is happening up there. The minister for small business went to Ingham, and the member for Herbert and I joined the minister for small business to attend meetings in Townsville with Centrelink and state government representatives. They gave us a report on how they were assisting the people on the ground in Ingham, in the electorate of Kennedy. What has happened in Ingham is far worse than anything they have seen before, as the member for Kennedy has said. I commend the services of Centrelink and the state government Department of Communities, who are doing an outstanding job there. We also commend our fantastic volunteers in the SES and the police, ambulance and fire services, who have performed way beyond the call of duty.

I have spoken to the mayors of Townsville, Bowen and Mackay and the Mayor of the Burdekin Shire Council. I have also spoken to many people on the ground in the Burdekin Shire Council. On Tuesday morning I addressed the Burdekin Shire Council and assured the mayor, Lyn McLaughlin, and her councillors that this parliament has not forgotten North Queensland. They took great heart from that.

The mayor from Burdekin took me to Giru, a small sugar town of no more than 500 people. Its main business is the Invicta sugar mill. As the member for Kennedy rightly says, sugar is a very big industry in the north of Queensland. I walked through the streets and met the people at the local neighbourhood store and the newsagency and I met the workers as they came out of the mill. They all said—every single person—‘We have not suffered like the people of Victoria. Our suffering is nothing compared to that of the people of Victoria.’ The hearts of the people in the electorate of Dawson are open and they are giving substantially in donations to the people in Victoria. It is during these times of natural disaster that we see a great bipartisan Australian family and we all stand of one accord.

As well as the police, the SES, the ambulance service, the local leaders, the volunteer groups, the Red Cross and Meals on Wheels, we must not forget communications through ABC local radio. They are just invaluable at times like this. I would also like to commend the role of community radio stations, particularly Burdekin’s Sweet FM. Mayor Lyn McLaughlin told me that they were outstanding in helping to get messages out to the local community. Radio is very important in North Queensland.

Along with the rains, we also experienced the highest king tides of the year. Having known what happened one year ago on 13 February, when the people of Dawson experienced the highest rainfall in 90 years, there was a lot of nervousness amongst the people. Thank God the rains were not as bad as last year. The king tides have caused extensive erosion along many shores from Townsville right through to Mackay. As always, when the heavy rains come the Bruce Highway takes a pounding. Yesterday, I travelled from Townsville for four hours, visiting all the towns down to Mackay, and I can report that there are certain sections of the Bruce Highway which have crumbled into potholes.

Places such as Yellow Gin Creek, Sandy Creek, Plantation Creek and Merinda are areas which traditionally always flood. I would like to report to the House the extent of the rain. As the member for Kennedy correctly said, we are only halfway through the wet season. In Townsville from 1 January to 9 February we received 1,350 millimetres of rain. The average for the year is 1,116 millimetres. In the town of Ayr, in the same period, 1 January to 9 February, 1,211 millimetres have fallen. The normal for the year is 931 millimetres. In Bowen for the same period, 960 millimetres have fallen. The normal average for the year is 788 millimetres. This shows how our weather patterns have changed and the seriousness of the calamities which are before us.

I would like to join with the member for Kennedy and the member for Herbert, and I would also like to acknowledge the member for Leichhardt because his electorate has suffered extensive flooding as well. The people of Dawson stand with the people of Victoria in a very bipartisan fashion. Our thoughts and our prayers go out to all those who have suffered such horrific calamity. You are in our hearts, you are in our minds and you are in the tears in our eyes. I commend the motion of condolence.

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