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

I thank the Prime Minister for his words and for his update. I do also want to add words of thanks to the many people who were involved in what was an incredible preparation period but also those involved in the response period as well.

I had the great fortune of speaking with SES workers and many first responders who were preparing, many of whom had travelled from Townsville and other places which had been affected by natural disaster, most recently in relation to flooding. In fact, I acknowledge—I was just speaking to the member for Herbert before—the flooding that's taking place in Townsville right now and people who are sandbagging and worrying about their businesses and their homes in that greater Townsville area. But they were there, rolling their sleeves up, and they were involved in the response. It was again a demonstration of that great Australian spirit.

The work, in my own case, of the Moreton Bay council and Moreton Bay city, was exemplary. I acknowledge the work of not only Peter Flannery but also Adrian Schrinner in Brisbane City Council and Tom Tate on the Gold Coast, all of whom I caught up with and who did a remarkable job of responding. I also want to acknowledge the work of Premier Crisafulli, who was able to lead the state in an exemplary fashion and, to his great credit, provide the initial planning and the response as well. I want to thank the member for Page, the member for Moncrieff, the member for McPherson and the member for Fadden and all of those who were involved. I was just speaking before to Scott Buchholz, who was talking about growers in his electorate who still hadn't received the necessary support that they needed to get up on their feet again and to recover from what was a very serious event for them.

We know that, for those people in Lismore, as the Prime Minister rightly pointed out, this is yet the latest devastation for them and for their communities. That is something we really acknowledge in this place. There were about 44,000 insurance claims made, but the response of all of those, including Disaster Relief Australia and those in uniform, is something that we acknowledge. We also acknowledge the loss of life of Tom Cook, who was 61 years of age, as well as the 36 Defence Force personnel who were involved in the collision, and we wish a speedy recovery to those who are still unwell and still recovering from what was a terrible event.

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