Scott Morrison (Cook, Liberal Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Hansard source

I note the Leader of the Opposition has made comments on this in 90-second statements but I also wanted to say that I have spoken to the Premier of New South Wales and the Premier of Queensland today and I do want to place on record the fact that the entire parliament, the entire place here, is standing with the people not just of Queensland but also of New South Wales today. In Queensland, we know they have been dealing with these ravaging fires now for some days, particularly in the member for Flynn's electorate, in and around Gladstone. We've heard about the real challenges there, particularly over the next 24 hours, and we are expecting some extreme heat conditions across Queensland over the next three or four days. The Commonwealth stand ready to provide support to Queensland and the emergency services there through our own offices, and that offer has been made to the Queensland Premier today.

Also, in New South Wales there have been some very severe storms, both across the Sydney metropolitan area and particularly down on the South Coast of New South Wales in the electorate of Gilmore. The Premier is currently on her way to attend a briefing there and she will update me further this afternoon. All agencies of government will be working with their state counterparts in both New South Wales and Queensland to ensure that the services they need are provided in the most prompt and most cooperative way possible.

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