Susan Templeman (Macquarie, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

While the National Party is busy swapping seats and the Prime Minister is digging into his family history, you have to wonder who is focused on the important work that's still to be done following the floods. Three months after the Hawkesbury saw the biggest flood in 30 years, there's limbo as we await announcements about federal-state funding agreements. Sporting clubs are still wondering if the damage will be covered by federal funds because they didn't qualify under early arrangements. The residents of Greens Road in Sackville are still waiting to hear what the plan is for their road and whether they can have some temporary arrangements via water, rather than the only route now, which is a rough dirt road requiring a half-hour detour each way. Will the bridge at Upper Colo be temporarily replaced by the Defence Force? And what is the federal support for the kilometres of eroded riverbank that will require extensive stabilisation and remediation? It has been three months and we still have so many unanswered questions from landholders, vegie growers, turf farmers and caravan park owners.

Thank goodness people like Jarryd Faint and Dave Wilkins got their act together fast and brought together an amazing line-up for a fundraising concert. It was a zero waste event. They paid their musicians. They had people like Dragon, Choir Boys, Thirsty Merc and our own locals Glenn A Baker and Imogen Clark, hosted by Ian 'Dicko' Dickson with The Duck, with the money being distributed by Rotary Australia World Community Services. If only the government had their sense of urgency! (Time expired)