Warren Entsch (Leichhardt, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Minister for Law Enforcement and Cybersecurity. Will the minister update the House on the assistance the government is providing to communities impacted by natural disasters this summer?

Angus Taylor (Hume, Liberal Party, Minister for Law Enforcement and Cybersecurity) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I thank the member for Leichhardt for his question, and I know he has concerns about the impacts of Tropical Cyclone Nora on isolated communities in his electorate. In the last two weeks we've seen nature throw her worst at many communities, here in Australia, at either end of the country. In the north we've seen two category 2 cyclones and in the south we've seen a number of communities ravaged by bushfires and floods in northern New South Wales. We know that the impact on many communities has been devastating. We saw in the north, from the cyclones, power damage and downed trees on an enormous scale. In the south, we saw destroyed homes, farms and businesses and a thousand livestock, dairy cattle, lost around the Cobden region.

Yesterday and last week the Prime Minister and I were able to visit Tathra, and Cobden, in south-western Victoria, to talk to impacted communities. We saw firsthand the devastation caused but we also saw resilience, courage and selflessness. We saw communities rallying together to respond and to recover from incredible hardship. Fortunately, very fortunately, there has been no loss of life despite the devastating impacts. We know from experience that the most challenging time for these communities will be the coming days, weeks, months and, in some cases, years as they recover from these disasters.

A huge thanks to the volunteers and the professional workers who provided fire and emergency services, and thanks to independent organisations—like BlazeAid, which right now is doing an amazing job in Wannon to get farmers and their businesses back on their feet. It is extraordinary work from those sorts of organisations. We thank also the ADF, because the ADF have provided over a thousand people for clean-up services in the Darwin area—alongside 50 US marines, who have made an extraordinary contribution as well.

State and territory governments have primary responsibility for responding to natural disasters, but we provide support, very significant support, under the NDRRA. This is a critical role of the government and we have contributed over $11 billion for relief and recovery from natural disasters in the last decade. We expect these areas to receive support under that program as well.

Our thoughts and prayers remain with the farmers, the families and the businesspeople impacted. I commend the resilience of these communities in the face of great hardship.

Tony Smith (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The Leader of the Opposition on indulgence.

Bill Shorten (Maribyrnong, Australian Labor Party, Leader of the Opposition) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

On indulgence, I rise to associate the opposition with the remarks of the Minister for Law Enforcement and Cybersecurity. It was a miracle—we sometimes use that word too easily, but I think in this case it's fairly used—when you look at the fire damage in south-western Victoria or South Coast New South Wales, or the cyclone damage in the Top End, that no-one was killed. Any of us who've been up there in the days afterwards—for example, at Tathra 100 dwellings out of 500 were destroyed—know it's a great testament to the resourcefulness of the locals and to the emergency services personnel, both volunteer and professional, that there was no loss of life.

At the same time, I think it's important that this parliament records its recognition that for a lot of people the rebuilding task will seem very daunting. In the first 24 to 48 hours after these disasters there's a lot of adrenaline, a lot of attention; the media's interested; there are visits, and everyone's right there beside the people affected. But after that 24 to 48 hours, as the adrenaline subsides, there will be many of our fellow Australians who think, 'How do we start again?' The damage done will see the loss of school reports and photos, memorabilia which simply can't be replaced. The cost of rebuilding will seem daunting.

I want to conclude by saying to those Australians: it is legitimate to be unsure about what to do. There is no textbook reaction in coping with this adversity. I say to those Australians: please ask for help. And, if other people see them and see how they're coping, please ask them how they're going. Recovery is an individual matter, a journey that each individual and family goes through. It's important in this place that we encourage all Australians to look after the people who've been hard hit, because the recovery will take a long time for some of our fellow Australians.

Malcolm Turnbull (Wentworth, Liberal Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I ask that further questions be placed on the Notice Paper.