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

On indulgence, I rise to associate the opposition with the heartfelt remarks of the Prime Minister. Perhaps not every Australian knows where the town of Gracemere is. About 8,000 people live there. It's a fast-growing satellite suburb of Rockhampton. It was the site of the first European settlement in the Rockhampton district. I hope all Australians learn where Gracemere is now, because, last night, over 8,000 people from there had a very restless sleep at the showgrounds and in the homes of Rockhampton people who invited them in all the way from their own homes. The reason I think all Australians should know where Gracemere is is it was actually the biggest evacuation in the history of the area—a massive, cooperative effort—and it went seamlessly, exactly as the people there had planned. To me, that represents all of what's good about our volunteers and professionals when they do the work. With levels of government working together, 8,000 people were moved safely in a very short period of time. That should make us all very proud.

I understand Premier Palaszczuk and the local member for Rocky, Barry O'Rourke, are in Gracemere right now, as we speak. Even more pleasingly, so are relieved people returning to their homes. Whilst evacuated last night, Gracemere was still standing when the sun rose this morning. The fire did get under the railway bridge and across the main road, but the dedication, courage and professionalism of firefighters and all the other support services kept it safe. I think people in this place are relieved to hear that things are looking better there today than they were yesterday, but there are big parts of Queensland which are still exposed to severe fire danger. Only hours ago, residents of Winfield and Broken River were asked to leave immediately. It does remind us that we're a big country and that, all too often, natural disasters are a rollcall of small towns. And, when we see these towns, they remind us of an Australia which perhaps, in our city life, we forget still exists, but it does. Some of the towns and hamlets are still under great pressure. Mount Larcom, Agnes Water, Deepwater, Finch Hatton, Rules Beach and Oyster Creek are still on alert.

The heatwave gripping this part of Queensland is expected to last another five days, with no significant rain on the horizon. Communities, people and volunteers are battling the fire right now. They're not dealing in days; they're thinking in minutes and hours; they're thinking direction of wind. That's how quickly things can change. Yesterday I mentioned Baffle Creek to the House and how the Gladstone mayor, Matt Burnett, explained to me that, if the coast road was cut off, the people still there would be trapped. Hours later, after I spoke to the House, the remaining families in that area seeking to leave had to be evacuated from the boat ramp. The fire did indeed jump the road. When I see the fires, I think about the bushfires in 2009, Black Saturday, where 177 people perished. I learnt, talking to survivors, that fire fronts are so fast moving; they change direction so rapidly. It is vital that everyone does as the Prime Minister said: listen to and follow the warnings from emergency services and do so immediately. We salute the hundreds of interstate firefighters, all the local brigades and all of those helping or going to help.

I think the House might be interested to know, in conclusion, that one of the reasons a major disaster was averted in Gracemere yesterday was because they used a fire simulation system designed and financed in Victoria after Black Saturday. It is proof that, whilst we never wish these disasters to happen, Australians can learn from tragedies of the past, and we're cooperating when they happen in the future. And, speaking of lessons learnt, following on from what we've seen after floods, fires and other previous events, I think it's appropriate to put banks and insurance companies on notice that this is not a time to reach for lawyers and litigation and fine print. It's time to reach for the cheque book and give a helping hand. I'm sure they will.

We don't know what tonight holds, but, be it the floods and rainstorms in New South Wales or the bushfires in Queensland, I know that members of the House are hoping that Queenslanders and people affected by the storms stay safe in the days ahead.

Honourable members: Hear, hear!

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