Shayne Neumann (Blair, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I wish to speak about the terrible and severe storms which affected South-East Queensland from 16 November to 22 November. They have affected my electorate of Blair, which is based in Ipswich and the Lockyer Valley, terribly. In South-East Queensland we have had two fatalities that we know of. We have seen people’s lives devastated. Hundreds of millions of dollars worth of damage has been sustained at schools, businesses and homes.

People have spoken to me at my mobile offices. I have driven around with Senator Joseph Ludwig and Councillor Andrew Antoniolli from Ipswich City Council and looked at the devastation to bridges—the One Mile Bridge and the Three Mile Bridge, for example—and the railway line at Booval. It will take a long time for my electorate to recover.

I pay tribute to the Rural Fire Brigade, the SES, the more than 700 Australian Defence personnel who worked tirelessly around the clock and the businesses that supported them. For example, the Ipswich International Hotel provided breakfast for people. There was support from Ipswich City Council Mayor, Paul Pisasale, and the Lockyer Valley Regional Mayor, Steve Jones. All the councillors have pitched in. There has been tremendous communitarian spirit shown by the people of my electorate. The Insurance Council of Australia has activated industry arrangements for the coordination of recovery efforts, and to date about 1,800 claims have been registered in South-East Queensland to the value of $175 million.

I commend the federal government for providing an additional $500,000 to match the contribution of the Queensland government to the Premier’s Disaster Relief Appeal for activation under the natural disaster relief and recovery arrangements. That recognises 13 local government areas for the purposes of personal hardship and distress grants. Three of my councils are in that area. Assistance has been given to adults and children who have been affected—$1,000 for adults and $400 for children. I have been to the community disaster recovery areas; I have been to the centre. I also commend the Red Cross. About five people came up to Ipswich from the Bendigo Red Cross to help. They did not have to, but they did it because of their communitarian spirit and affection for their fellow Australians. I pay tribute to the people who did that. I commend governments at all levels, the community in South-East Queensland and the people across Australia who have helped our area. (Time expired)