Barry Haase (Kalgoorlie, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Shortly after midnight on Thursday, 8 March—that is, in the early hours of Friday morning—Cyclone George crossed the coast of Western Australia just to the north-east of Port Hedland. The weather bureau described it as the most powerful system to hit the Port Hedland area in the last 30 years. The result was winds of 275 kilometres an hour and widespread flooding. That natural disaster claimed the life of three people—two people died immediately and a third person died later in hospital—and 28 other people were injured. My thoughts go out to the families and friends of the victims. We are all grateful that that there was not a much higher human toll.

We praise the work of the emergency services and the Pilbara community generally. Before the cyclone hit, extensive preparation was carried out, and that action by emergency services workers greatly reduced the injury to people and the damage to houses and infrastructure generally. SES workers had the task of informing those living in low-lying areas of the problem of storm surge. Many people were moved to emergency shelter or asked to go to family and friends residing on higher ground. South Hedland was the major location for that emergency services shelter. Down the road, in Karratha, hundreds of people were advised to stay indoors or move to higher ground or to designated shelters. Schools were closed the previous day, flights into the area were cancelled and mining operations ceased, as the entire population moved to batten down.

The people of the Pilbara are not strangers to cyclones, but it must be said that every incident is a disruption to routine, and on this occasion the cyclone had a fatal effect on three lives, and up to 50 properties were badly damaged in the Port Hedland area. The cyclones never go unnoticed. Thank goodness the federal government, in cooperation with the state government, has been able to provide substantial assistance, especially the $1,000 per adult and $400 per child for those that suffered serious injury or found themselves confronted with an uninhabitable dwelling.

This evening I wish to underline the services of the volunteers. The local recovery coordination committee comprised Jim Cahill from FESA, Derek Jones from SES, Bob Circulus from Horizon Power, George Jones from the Water Corporation, CEO Chris Adams and Councillor Arnold Carter from the Town of Port Hedland, Senior Sergeant Phil Gors from the Pilbara police and Andrew Geddes from the Department for Community Development as well as representatives from state and federal government agencies, including Centrelink.

Port Hedland’s hospital emergency department was damaged in the cyclone, but the outpatient area was able to continue treating casualties. An emergency medical team from Perth, including surgeons, doctors and critical-care nurses, flew into Port Hedland to help with the injured people. The Royal Flying Doctor Service sent a number of aircraft and crews to take the injured to Perth for medical treatment.

The Water Corporation very quickly moved into action after the red alert was lifted and worked tirelessly to restore that commodity. Horizon Power, who are in charge of power distribution in the area, worked around the clock. I saw them on the Monday, and some of them were almost like walking zombies—they had been working tirelessly to restore services to the homes around Port Hedland and South Hedland. The clean-up crews from the Town of Port Hedland worked around the clock to clear fallen trees and allow SES workers to get their powerlines back up.

It was generally a mighty collective effort. It was a great show of community strength and the willingness of volunteers to put their shoulders to the wheel to prove that, regardless of the natural adversity that is thrown at Pilbara towns, they will still rally to the cause. (Time expired)