Jill Hall (Shortland, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

The storms that wreaked havoc on Robertson electorate also wreaked havoc on the Shortland electorate. The devastation and the impact on the lives of people in the communities I represent was enormous.

There were winds of 135 kilometres per hour in Lake Macquarie. Trees were uprooted. Trees fell across the road. Trees knocked down powerlines. Trees caused enormous devastation.

In addition to that, we had flooding, and people were forced to leave their homes. There were electricity outages that lasted for some 10 days. It impacted on telephone services and sewerage. Telstra brought in generators from outside the area so that they could actually operate their services. Communities were totally isolated by water and then not able to make contact by telephone.

I compare it to the 2007 storms that hit the region. Those storms were very intense with water initially but, after a time, they subsided. The devastation that took place in April was more sustained and the outages were for longer periods of time, and I think the overall impact of the storms was greater. I spoke to the mayor of Lake Macquarie, Mayor Jodie Harrison, and she said to me that the damage caused in the storms was greater than the damage caused in 2007.

As with the member for Robertson, the thing that I found phenomenal was how communities came together. In an area that had a street where there was no electricity, everybody joined together for a community barbecue. If a person had a generator, their neighbours linked up to that generator. There was a really strong spirit of community that existed throughout the storms.

I was very fortunate: my office was one of the only offices in the Hunter that retained its power through the storms. Streets around it had no power whatsoever, so I was using my office as a hub, where people could come to charge their mobile phones, boil some water to put in a thermos and bring their iPads to—that was really important because it gave them access to news as well as the ability to communicate through their email. People would go into the cafe next door to my office for a coffee and at the same time they would be plugging their phones in to recharge them. People in the community gave enormous support to each other.

I should at this stage mention Minister Keenan particularly. He rang and spoke to me on the Tuesday night, and I appreciated that call. Earlier in the day, the Minister for Human Services's staff contacted my office and offered all the support that was available. The Centrelink team worked over the Anzac Day weekend, and a bus went to visit San Remo, one area that suffered considerable devastation.

I would like to mention the San Remo Neighbourhood Centre. They lost their electricity, but, when they finally got it on towards the end of the week, they held a community barbecue. Everyone from around the community came to get some hot food, something that they had not had for a few days. In addition to that, the neighbourhood centre are one of the emergency relief providers in the area. They have a very small budget but they were there providing food and all the necessities that people were without. It is not a wealthy area, but it was so great to see that community supporting itself and everybody working together.

If there is anything that I am critical about, when I mention the emergency relief program, it is the changes that have taken place. It is now very difficult for people to access any funding through that relief program. The program kicked in in 2013 when my electorate was devastated by bushfires. At that time—once again, I must say that both those ministers were fantastic—people were able to access the thousand dollars when they needed it, as well as the $400 for children. I had people contacting my office who had suffered enormous loss. One in particular sticks in my mind: a young family, both parents working, renting—they went out on the Monday and did their shopping and filled their freezer. They spent $450 on food. Then they were without electricity for eight days, and there was no assistance for them. They did not have insurance, because people who do not have a lot of money tend not to take out insurance. That is a cost that they think they can afford to carry.

I would like to encourage the government to revisit that. I would like to join with the member for Charlton in his call to Minister Morrison to give a little extra money to that emergency relief program in our areas because there has really, really been a strain on that program. People are in need. People are hurting. I would not be an effective representative of my community if I did not get in there and ask for that support.

I would also like to join the previous speakers and thank those phenomenal emergency workers who were out there in the most dangerous conditions working to remove trees. I was speaking to one of those workers, Corey, who was coming home from an 18-hour stint. He is with the Rural Fire Service. He was driving past Belmont Golf Club just as power poles came across the road. That was on the Wednesday, and that cut the Pacific Highway going south. He stayed there until the police arrived and could make sure that it was safe for people in the area. The level of devastation was enormous. The commitment by all those volunteer organisations—the SES, the Rural Fire Service, Fire and Rescue, and I think we even had some SES personnel coming from Victoria—was enormous, and I thank them all. I thank the wonderful ABC for the fantastic job that they do getting that information out to people so that they know what is happening all the time—they know that it is unsafe to be on the road; they know that they should not drive a certain way because it is flooded. I am eternally grateful to them.

These events happen fairly regularly throughout the whole of Australia, impacting not just on Shortland electorate but on the electorates of many members in this House. I think that, as a government and as members of parliament, we have to work towards developing a better plan to address these emergency events. The response that takes place and the way everyone kicks in and works hard at the time of the accident is fantastic. I would like to thank all those people who were involved in providing that relief. (Time expired)

See this speech in context