Cathy O'Toole (Herbert, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

I second the motion. I am very proud to stand in this place and say that I come from one of the most resilient communities in our nation, Townsville. Townsville is my home. I was born, raised, educated and married in Townsville. In my living memory, I cannot recall a weather event that compares to what we recently experienced. This extreme weather event has made history as the worst natural disaster that Townsville has experienced, with 22,000 homes affected by devastating floodwaters. As I speak in this place today, there are residents and business owners in my community who are still cleaning up and trying to come to terms with their financial and sentimental losses. Some people have lost everything: their homes, their belongings.

Townsville is currently going through a housing crisis, with many displaced residents desperately trying to find somewhere to live. The Real Estate Institute of Queensland has reported that roughly 1,500 people in Townsville are at present fighting for an estimated 200 to 400 available properties. The department of housing has received 285 requests for emergency housing assistance as of Tuesday, 12 February. To make matters worse, the competition for property is driving rental prices up, making it simply unaffordable for many residents. I have read reports that a three-bedroom house that was previously rented for $350 per week is now being rented for $700 per week.

I want to say in this place that this is not the time for anyone to take advantage of this disaster. It is abundantly clear that my community is going through an extremely tough time right now, and we need assistance. My office has been inundated by calls and emails from people who have been directly impacted by the floods. Unfortunately, under the watch of this LNP government, many of these people have been denied financial assistance, which is simply very stressful for them at this time. The LNP government claims to have made changes to the criteria for the disaster relief funding, but many residents are not aware of this, and I am sure the department staff are stressed. No-one from the government has come to ask me about what is happening on the ground. In fact, I am yet to receive any communication at all from this LNP government about anything to do with this unprecedented weather event in my electorate of Herbert.

Now is not the time for us to be stingy or play politics. The people in my community just want to know the simple facts about the disaster relief payments. Changes via Twitter are not helpful when people are already very stressed, and in many cases they are receiving conflicting and confusing information regarding the payments.

To receive a year's rainfall in nine days is unimaginable. We measured the rain not in points or inches but in metres. However, through these unprecedented and dangerous conditions, the ADF, emergency services, SES and council workers were at the ready. To those police officers, ambulance workers, firefighters, Defence personnel, SES volunteers, council workers and Ergon workers, who were out at all hours of the day and night assisting residents to safety, I say a huge thank you.

To all of the thousands of volunteers who have been out helping those who are affected by the floods, I say: a big thank you to you too. To those businesses and organisations who have donated food, material items and financial assistance during this time: I thank you for your generosity. To the Townsville Local Disaster Management Group and the advisory group, the local Bureau of Meteorology and local media: thank you for working 24 hours a day to ensure that residents were kept well informed.

I want to especially acknowledge and thank the Townsville mayor, Councillor Jenny Hill, for her leadership in this very difficult time. Her commitment to our city is simply outstanding.

Lastly but not least, I want to thank the people of Townsville. This has been an extraordinarily difficult and stressful time for our community, but we have shown real community spirit and resilience. We will overcome the challenges that lie ahead, and we will be a stronger city at the end of this journey. But we must also take care of ourselves, our family and friends and also notice when there are people who don't seem to have anybody around to support them, to lend a listening ear.

However, let me be very clear: we do need to have very clear and concise criteria so that the people of my community can understand exactly what they need to get their disaster relief money paid to them.

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