Julian Leeser (Berowra, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

The Hawkesbury River communities in my electorate are unique—places like Wisemans Ferry, Lower Portland, Leets Vale, Sackville North, Cattai, Laughtondale and Singletons Mill. Although these communities are small, their spirit is great. The area is characterised by turf farms, orchards, caravan parks and water-ski parks. In these areas, many residents can trace their family connection back to the beginnings of European settlement. Since time immemorial, the Hawkesbury has been a major water and food source for the people of Sydney. But one of the challenges of living on the Hawkesbury is that, from time to time, the river floods. This is well understood by the residents, who acknowledge that it's one of the great risks of living on the banks of a great natural treasure. In fact, there've been over 130 floods since European settlement.

In March this year, the Hawkesbury River rose to levels not seen for 35 years, as a volume of rainfall across New South Wales led to natural disaster zones across the state. I want to acknowledge Assistant Commissioner Leanne McCusker from New South Wales Police, Hills RFS Superintendent Matt Smith, Michael Lathlean from Hills Shire Council, Malcolm Liston and Andrew Turner from the Hills SES and Major Mark Whitfield from the 5th Brigade Infantry Company of the Australian Defence Force for their leadership of the rescue and recovery effort.

The force of the river was so great that pontoons and wharves were twisted or washed away and fully stocked fridges turned up at Brooklyn, at the other end of the river. Sadly, the floods were not without fatalities. At Cattai Creek in Glenorie, my electorate, Ayaz Younas, a 25-year-old Pakistani, passed away as his car sank in the floodwaters. We send our condolences to his family. I saw firsthand the force of the river going out on a fireboat with Stan Montgomery and Ian Francis from the Wisemans Ferry RFS to personally deliver supplies to residents who were cut off and running out of essentials. RFS volunteers continued to work hard to clear debris and clean up after floodwaters receded. Australian Defence Force personnel were deployed to the Hawkesbury River region as part of the federal government's response, providing much-needed assistance to our community. I was able to meet and thank some of the members of the ADF who were helping our community.

I was also able to bring Minister Littleproud, the federal minister for emergency management, and the Emergency Management Australia director-general to survey devastation and understand the needs of our community firsthand. We visited the St George caravan park at Lower Portland, which looked like something out of a scene from Cyclone Tracy. Caravans had been flung into the air and sliced in half, and there was debris everywhere, with a solitary Australian flag standing in the rubble as a beacon of hope.

As the Hawkesbury rose, I heard of acts of heroism, care and support. In a number of river communities people have made their homes in caravan parks. As the river rose, vulnerable people living in those parks faced particular danger. During the night of 21 March, the water had risen unexpectedly and was waist deep in parts. Residents were under the impression that they still had 24 hours in which to evacuate, but that wasn't the case. In the early hours of that morning, Wisemans Ferry policeman Senior Constable Bill Andrews checked on a group of permanent residents in the local caravan park who he knew were vulnerable, some of whom had particular disabilities or were really frail. Constable Andrews assisted the residents to evacuate, moving them safely to dry ground. His initiative to check on these vulnerable residents at approximately 2 am almost certainly saved their lives. Many in the community are calling him a hero.

At times like this we see our community at its best. Many local organisations helped with the provision of food and essentials to those in need. The Wisemans Ferry Bowling Club coordinated donations of food and groceries coordinated by Margaret Pratt. Glenorie Public School, led by Andrea Pateman and Olivia Solomon, coordinated a food and clothing donation drive for their Wisemans Ferry and Lower Portland neighbours. The Wisemans Ferry Pharmacy and GPs at the Wisemans Ferry medical centre worked hard to ensure appropriate medical supplies were made available and delivered to those trapped by floodwaters for many days. The Glenorie Bakery arranged a series of significant food drops to the other side of the Hawkesbury, arranging helicopter charters from Annangrove. Hundreds of kilos of baked essentials were provided to the community centre in North Richmond. Unfortunately, some of the community organisations suffered significant loss. The Wisemans Ferry Men's Shed, one of the best in my community, was particularly waterlogged from the flooding. An organisation which does so much to serve our community, especially with the mental health needs of isolated men, now needs our help. Their president, Adrian Acheson, is appealing for donations as they attempt to replace tools and equipment lost in the floods. They should be eligible for some of the federal government's disaster assistance. The flood also highlighted the parlous state of telecommunications in my electorate, with many residents cut off by Telstra's inadequate service to those most vulnerable.

The Morrison government has provided assistance to flood affected communities and individuals through disaster recovery payments and disaster recovery grants for businesses, not-for-profits and primary producers. The government and I will continue to support our Hawkesbury communities as they get back on their feet and recover from the recent floods.

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