Peter Dutton (Dickson, Liberal Party, Leader of the Opposition) Share this | Hansard source

on indulgence—I thank the Prime Minister for his update and his words of support, particularly for those in north Queensland who are in a very desperate situation yet again. Almost 1,200 millimetres of rain since Saturday is quite an astounding event, and it's not the first time that people in north Queensland have faced this sort of onslaught of the weather. The tropics always provide heavy rainfalls, but, for many families, they've been displaced again. all of those who have been involved in the first response to this event—particularly, as the Prime Minister points out, the emergency service workers are wonderful volunteers in our community—would be devastated by the loss of the 63-year-old lady in Ingham when the dinghy flipped as they were trying to provide support to a community. They would be truly in a state of complete flux, because they go in to help people, and they change people's lives. They save people, and they provide a safe haven. For this outcome, they will be devastated. Our thoughts and our prayers are with everybody in north Queensland at the moment.

I've had a number of conversations with colleagues. Obviously, as the Prime Minister pointed out, the member for Herbert, who has his sleeves rolled up again, has been out doorknocking and providing support to his local community, as has Andrew Willcox in Mackay, and Bob Katter, obviously, does a great job in his community as well. As the Prime Minister points out, we're a land of great contrasts. Over the break, I was with the member for Wannon and the member for Mallee in the Grampians, looking at the devastation there that families faced in those small business in those communities. We met with the firefighters and the rural fire brigade into the work that they were doing. As a country, thank goodness we have these people who are prepared to sacrifice, in some cases, their own homes and livelihoods to keep their communities safe. The work that is underway in North Queensland at the moment, the response not just to the initial devastation but to the clean-up, will be quite phenomenal. We offer on a bipartisan basis to the Prime Minister whatever support is required to help those people through their darkest hour.

I might just say, on a final note, in a very Australian iconic scene, I had a photo sent through from friends in Townsville before who have a small patch of grass left just at the backyard. The floodwaters have almost inundated the home. On that grass stand about 60 kangaroos who have sought refuge from the rising floodwaters. It shows the many aspects to the devastation of the environment, the community and the lives of those people, the disruption to them and the schools that are closed et cetera. There's a lot of work ahead to help rebuild that part of the world, and we stand ready to provide that support to them.

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