Bert Van Manen (Forde, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

It is very humbling to stand here today to consider the effects of the events of the past six weeks on communities in Queensland, in Victoria, in WA and in northern New South Wales. The electorate of Forde was fortunate enough not to have been severely affected by the Queensland floods. As a result, we were in the privileged position of being able to offer our electorate office as a collection point for flood relief items for distribution to affected areas.

My sincerest thoughts and prayers are with those in the flood affected areas, particularly in the Lockyer Valley, where the loss of life was greatest. Yesterday we were privileged to listen to the heartfelt words of the member for Wright on the effect of those floods on the community. For those of us who have not been affected and do not live in those communities it is going to be very difficult to understand what they have been through. But we commend those communities on their unwavering spirit and stoicism and desire to rebuild.

To those in North Queensland who have suffered as a result of Cyclone Yasi and to those in WA, more recently, who have experienced the fires and loss of property—but, fortunately, not lives—our prayers are with you also at this time.

The events of the past six weeks, whilst devastating for so many communities, have also served to demonstrate the generosity of spirit of the Australian people in a time of need. It is heartening to see the many volunteers. In Brisbane many thousands of volunteers got out there in their gumboots or, if they did not have gumboots, because the state sold out of them, in whatever they had to clean up the mud and the mess and to help people start to rebuild their lives. Having been through floods before, I know what a horrible, smelly job that is.

I believe that these events have served to reignite a community spirit that may have been waning under the pressures of everyday life. It is reassuring to see that community spirit. It was no more evidenced than by a comment from my sister-in-law, who is a Canadian and who works for a local radio station in Mount Isa. She said that she was amazed, because in Canada she felt that that would never have happened. So it is a great testament to our country, our community and our people.

The events of the past few weeks I think have also allowed us as a community to reflect on what is important. Whilst material things can mostly be replaced, it is the loss of life that is so tragic, as it leaves a hole in the lives of families and the communities affected. I thank the residents of Forde for their generosity. My staff and I have been overwhelmed by the donations of linen, clothing and personal care items that we have received. We have also had many people offering their time in sorting through the items and aiding in transporting them to a nearby warehouse which was donated for storage, and also to ultimate points of distribution.

My thanks go to community and religious organisations such as Dream Centre, Beenleigh RSL, Dunamis Christian Centre and Currumbin RSL, who donated so many of the items needed. They are simple things that we sometimes overlook. In the early days, the call was for a toothbrush, toothpaste, a hairbrush, ladies’ sanitary items, socks and undergarments—simple things that, in the rush to help families, we overlooked because we were looking for clothing and bedding. Some of those organisations made the long drive up from the Gold Coast to deliver those items to our office. Recently we received two pallets of donations from Sydney. Over the first two weeks of receiving donations, my office saw over 20 pallets of clothing, personal care items, bedding and linen sorted. We had over 40 volunteers help us with that.

My thanks go to community organisations such as Mission Possible and Calvary family care, who have been working tirelessly in the affected communities to distribute the necessary items to individual families so that they can get the immediate requirements they need. They also made us aware of areas of need in the community that have been overlooked, that we were not aware of. Again, I thank the community for responding quickly to our requests for specific items to help out. Residents are continuing to bring in donations and we are continuing to look for ways to distribute those and to help the affected communities. The majority of the donations have gone to the electorate of Wright, to help Scott Buchholz’s electorate, as that has been one of the worst affected. Again, I would like to thank some of the community organisations in Beaudesert, particularly the Country Women’s Association, who were able to store that stuff for Scott to allow it to then be distributed. I feel extremely fortunate to be part of such a generous and community minded electorate and country.

Other organisations that have done a tremendous amount of work and that have been recognised by many but should not be overlooked include the SES—even in our electorate they had some work to do; the Australian Defence Force, which did an enormous amount of work in very difficult circumstances, both in the Lockyer Valley and also in North Queensland; and the police and the work that they have done to help keep order in those communities and to try to establish some sort of sense of normality, as much as that was possible.

My thanks also go to our media outlets—radio, TV and print—for their coverage to keep the community informed. I hope that the work that they have done is appropriately recognised and that it sets a benchmark for the value they can add to our community in these times of need.

It is important over the coming months that we do not forget these communities and ensure that the flood relief both via donated funds and via government assistance is quickly and efficiently distributed. The quicker that money can be distributed to those families and communities, the sooner they can begin to rebuild their lives. With this also goes the call to insurance companies to assist in being timely in settlement of claims.

We should be proud of ourselves as a community that we have been so ready to help those in need. We should never forget that Australian spirit and that we live in a country where people are prepared to help their neighbours, even if they do not know them, in a time of need. We should never forget that and we should be proud of how we have handled ourselves in these circumstances. I pray that these communities have a speedy recovery and that, as I just noted, we do not forget.

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