Bill Shorten (Maribyrnong, Australian Labor Party, Leader of the Opposition) Share this | Hansard source

Last night, as rain drenched Sydney and fell here in Canberra, 80 fires were burning across Queensland. Premier Palaszczuk has described these fires and the extreme heatwave, wind and storm conditions as 'unprecedented'. All-time records have been shattered from Cooktown to Gladstone. So I wanted to say on behalf of the parliament and the Australian people: we are thinking of Queensland and Queenslanders today. We're thinking of everyone who has been evacuated from their homes or those making the hard decision to leave. We're thinking of the local brigades, the last line of defence, that have been on the job since last week. The Wartburg, Agnes Water and Captain Creek rural fire services have been working around the clock, supported by other regional fire services.

But, in particular, I want to talk about Baffle Creek. It is a little town like so many others in Australia. There's a general store, petrol station, bait-and-tackle shop, cafe, real estate agent and pub. Their fire brigade has been fireside for five straight days, defending the place they love. The Gladstone Regional Council mayor, Matt Burnett, told me this morning that today is the crunch point for Baffle Creek. The fire is headed to Coast Road and, if Coast Road is blocked, people will be trapped. So we salute the courage of all the volunteers and the courage of those coming from interstate to lend a hand. They are the best of Australia, standing together, helping each other, and they are in our hearts today.

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