Bob Katter (Kennedy, Katter's Australian Party) Share this | Hansard source

We have had the worst flooding—maybe in the nation's history—in North Queensland. There are 500,000 people trapped; they have no way of getting out. Helicopters can't get in, planes can't get in and boats can't get in. There is no way you can get off the coastal plain. On one side is the Great Dividing Range—5,000-feet-high mountains—and 30 kilometres away is the Pacific Ocean. There are three roads that are utterly impassable even in good times, and they are utterly impassable now, and we can't get back to Townsville. There is great urgency, and we should haven't to go into a calamity of this nature. We should be prepared for it. Any civilised nation would have looked after the half-a-million people that are there and have been in great jeopardy for the last two weeks.

We crave the indulgence of the people of Australia and the parliament of Australia. We need a tunnel to get out of that captured situation. Infinitely more importantly, we need an upgrading of the roads system from Tully back to Townsville so we can get out that way. Infinitely more importantly, the Prime Minister gave the first monies for the Great Inland Way. That got it started, and there's been $2 billion spent on it since his $28 million. It just needs 10.8 kilometres to get completion so we've got an alternative way out. We need to be able to get back to Townsville, but we need a tunnel at the other end so we can get onto this highway. We've got 500,000 Australians who've had their lives placed in very grave jeopardy. We've lost two—arguably three—lives that we know of already.

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