Ken O'Dowd (Flynn, National Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

On Saturday I visited more citrus farms, more cane farms and more cattle properties in the Wallaville district, which is upstream from Bundaberg, which of course was hit by bad floods over the last couple of weeks. Abbotsleigh Citrus was one such farm that was badly hit, and its loss is estimated at about 5,000 trees. It has lost its whole blueberry plantation, which was washed away. Some of these plants have been recovered and are going to be re-established under the igloos, which have also been wrecked. There is another guy who owns a cane farm on the Burnett River, and as we speak his cane farm is slipping away into the river. On the citrus farm itself, the people have to contend with rotten animal carcasses in the trees—cows and pigs. The people themselves are very traumatised. One lady told me that she cannot go to sleep—she can still hear the sound of drowning animals and their gurgling and gasping for air.

I would also like to thank the mayors in my electorate—Wayne Kratzmann from South Burnett, Don Waugh from North Burnett, Ron Carige from Banana, Gail Sellers from Gladstone, Mal Forman from Bundaberg, Margaret Strelow from Rockhampton and Terry Munns from Woorabinda. They all did a wonderful job in combining with the emergency services and easing the pain as best they could. Thank you.