Anthony Albanese (Grayndler, Australian Labor Party, Leader of the House) Share this | Hansard source

I thank the member for Leichhardt for his question. Indeed, I was in Far North Queensland last week, looking at the flood damage that had been caused there. The member for McEwen and other members from Victoria would be pleased, I think, and heartened to know that on the morning of my visit to Far North Queensland I attended a fundraiser for the Victorian bushfires fund held by the Cairns Regional Council. I think it says something about the way that the entire nation has united that, even in communities that have been impacted by the floods in Far North Queensland and indeed throughout western Queensland, they are all kicking in. They all acknowledge the gravity of the situation in which those Victorian communities have found themselves.

I was also in Victoria last week, in Alexandra, to meet the Mayor of Murrindindi, Councillor Lyn Gunter, and the Mayor of Mitchell, Councillor Bill Melbourne. I spoke to other mayors and shire presidents from those areas that have been hardest hit by bushfires. Certainly one of those is Murrindindi, with more than a thousand homes destroyed. The numbers are not yet quite clear because, as the member for McEwen indicated, the emergency services are not yet in a position to open up those areas. In Mitchell, some 230 houses have been lost to the fires. In the meetings that I held I was very much struck by the no-nonsense, can-do attitude of these local community leaders. They were interested in sitting down and discussing what the practical measures are by which we could provide assistance.

The benefit of sitting down one on one with these community leaders was evident. For example, something that I had not thought about was that they were concerned that some of the donations made out of goodwill that had been given to the communities there—for example, new shoes—would endanger the small businesses that sell shoes in those local communities. It is similar with whitegoods, so we need to be very careful about imposing solutions from outside. I think what that really indicates is the importance of sitting down with those local communities and getting the bottom-up solutions and advice from them, and I am sure everyone in this House is committed to doing that.

When I rang the local mayors and shire presidents in the immediate aftermath of Black Saturday, the single thing that they wanted was cash support. They asked in what ways we could bring forward some financial grants to those local communities. I am pleased that today the government has brought forward the fourth quarter financial assistance grants to the communities in Victoria and in Queensland that have been impacted by these natural disasters. That is some $40 million being brought forward in Victoria and some $28 million being brought forward in Queensland. We will have ongoing dialogue with those communities to make sure that we can meet their needs. We have given those communities flexibility, for example, in the way that they receive funding under the Regional Local Community Infrastructure Program. We will be flexible on the basis that we understand that they are not in a position immediately to assess what their immediate needs are.

I was very much heartened by the courage and resilience of both the local leaders and some of the other emergency service workers and volunteers that I met during my visit to that shire. If any member of the House has suggestions re that engagement with local government, who will have such a critical role in the rebuilding process, then my door is open to them and I encourage them to make that contact.

I also visited Ingham, in North Queensland, with the member for Kennedy. There I met with the Hinchinbrook Shire Council. The Mayor, Councillor Pino Giandomenico, took me around town with the member for Kennedy to look at the flood damage and to talk about the priorities that they have for rebuilding their community and community infrastructure. The Rudd government is committed to working with local government—

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