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

I thank the Prime Minister for his update to the House. On behalf of the coalition, I extend our condolences to the family and friends of the lady who has passed away, losing her life in this tragedy. It compounds the grief, of course, for the Ingham community.

I thank the Prime Minister for the advice in relation to the assets deployed by the Australian Defence Force. The comfort that comes from seeing those uniforms on the ground in a time of natural disaster will be of some comfort to the people in Townsville and in the greater region that has been affected by the flood. We hope that the waters recede and that people can get back to a normal way of life at some point. But, for many families, that will take many years, and there's a lot of heartache ahead.

I praise the Premier of Queensland, David Crisafulli, for the swift response of the government there and the work they have done, along with the police minister, Dan Purdie, in providing that support and helping those in their darkest hour.

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