Peter Lindsay (Herbert, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is addressed to the Minister for Families, Community Services and Indigenous Affairs. Would the minister advise the House of assistance being provided to residents of North Queensland affected by Cyclone Larry?

Mal Brough (Longman, Liberal Party, Minister Assisting the Prime Minister for Indigenous Affairs) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I thank the member for Herbert for his obvious interest in the people of North Queensland and also the member for Leichhardt, who clearly sits next to him. It has been a tragic time in Far North Queensland, as everybody is very much aware. There has been extensive damage throughout the north. As Prime Minister Blair indicated today, the great resilience of these people under great adversity needs to be warmly acknowledged and congratulated. The Commonwealth stood ready to immediately help get individual families and communities back on their feet. I would like to inform the House of some of the very significant assistance the federal government is offering to people of Far North Queensland at this difficult time.

We have announced ex-gratia payments to people whose family homes were destroyed or where, through loss of power or other amenities, they were unable to inhabit those homes for a minimum of two weeks—$1,000 per eligible adult and $400 per eligible child. The federal government made a million-dollar donation to the Cyclone Larry Relief Fund. I take this opportunity to congratulate the fans of Townsville who went along to the Cowboys game on the weekend for their great generosity—about $140,000, I believe, was donated on that one occasion, showing how they are supporting their country cousins in Far North Queensland.

Gary Hardgrave (Moreton, Liberal Party, Minister Assisting the Prime Minister) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

And they’ve won!

Mal Brough (Longman, Liberal Party, Minister Assisting the Prime Minister for Indigenous Affairs) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Yes, they also won—a great outcome. For eligible farmers and small businesses there is a one-off income support program equivalent to Newstart allowance for six months and there will be no asset test applied in relation to the capital value of the farm or the business assets. There will also be one-off, tax-free grants of $10,000 for existing small and home based businesses, including farmers and tourism operators, adversely affected by the cyclone. Farmers have obviously been very heavily hit—and we have seen some of the coverage particularly of banana farmers and sugarcane farmers—and loans of up to $200,000 under the natural disaster relief arrangements will be made available to them. An initial advance of $40 million has been agreed with the Queensland government for this financial year under the natural disaster relief arrangements and there will also be a one-off reimbursement for diesel and petrol excise on the presentation of receipts. My colleague the Minister for Human Services has arranged for 60 of his staff in the Centrelink offices to work at the 13 community recovery centres that will be be operating, and he informs me that another 80 staff will arrive in the area tomorrow to further assist people, with face-to-face human contact, so they can get their lives back in order.

This has been a wonderful effort on behalf of the people of Far North Queensland, with the Queensland and federal governments working collaboratively in what have been incredibly trying times. The defence forces of Australia have again stood up, and I know the Minister for Defence has been up there and has already witnessed some of the fine work that they have undertaken, which just goes to prove that our defence forces do a great job onshore and offshore in times of need for this nation. This is a comprehensive package. The federal government will continue to monitor the situation and work with all concerned to ensure that North Queensland again gets back on its feet and becomes a productive part of Australia, as it always has been in the past and will continue to be into the future.