Wyatt Roy (Longman, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

I also rise to speak on this motion, and the other tragedy that struck our community in recent flooding events—not only in my electorate but also in the member for Petrie's electorate. Tragically, in my electorate we lost five lives. Our thoughts are very much with their families and their friends as they go through an unimaginably difficult period at the moment. But through all of the tragedy and all of the adversity that these floods brought to our communities, we really did see that rallying spirit of our communities, that, in the absolute worst of circumstances and in the face of horrific tragedy and adversity, we saw the best of our people and our communities. I want to use this opportunity to thank as many people as I possibly can.

The first people I want to talk about are the swiftwater rescue people. I would hate to think what they went through, and the fact that they put their lives on the line to save so many people is something that we should all be incredibly proud of. We just simply cannot thank them enough. I want to thank all of our emergency services—the police, the firies, the ambos and, in particular, our volunteer SES organisations. I went out and visited some of them in Caboolture and Woodford, and I am going to go to Bribie Island to say thank you to the SES there next week, when parliament rises. The SES is a most amazing organisation that people dedicate themselves to completely in the service of other people. Our community is stronger because of organisations like the SES and we are incredibly lucky to have such a big and vibrant SES volunteer organisation locally.

I want to share a couple of quick stories about the good Samaritans who came out during this horrific event. The Caboolture Historical Village opened up its doors way into the night for well over 35 people who were trapped and could not get home. What a great thing it is that community organisations give shelter and refuge to people in some pretty stressful and anxious periods. Also, the Caboolture Sports Club did an amazing job. They did the same thing—opening up their doors to many students and staff who got stuck at Morayfield State High just down the road. What a great thing it is for a local sports club to open up their doors in the same way. Up the road, in Elimbah, Julie, from the local business Health Concepts, not only opened up the doors of her business because people could not get home well into the night, but also cooked up some warm stew and fed people dinner as well. These stories make me so proud to represent our community. When friends help friends, when neighbours help neighbours and, in particular, when complete strangers reach out in a time of need and provide that support and help, it is a very special thing.

I also want to thank the people involved in the recovery—the council staff, the Insurance Council of Australia and Lifeline, who organised the donations. All of these organisations came together to help people in that recovery. That process has been moving smoothly. It has been a very effective process because of how quickly people have rallied to that cause. Finally, to any members of the community who still require assistance or help: please get in touch with me and my office and we can point you in the right direction to find that assistance.

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