Anthony Albanese (Grayndler, Australian Labor Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

At the worst of times, we see the best of the Australian character. That's exactly what I witnessed firsthand during the recent storms and floods caused by ex-Tropical Cyclone Alfred: neighbours helping neighbours and people helping friends, but people helping strangers as well, and the extraordinary members of the Australian Defence Force working tirelessly to help their fellow Australians—so often, people they knew they'd never, ever meet. Let me tell you that communities across South-East Queensland and northern New South Wales were deeply reassured to see our men and women in uniform in place on the ground, not just in the response but, crucially, in the preparation that came before that weather event crossed the coast.

In Brisbane, I had the enormous privilege of meeting some of our soldiers at the Gallipoli Barracks in Enoggera. I sat down for lunch with them in their mess while the rain bucketed down outside, and I listened as they told me about the reality of what they were up against. Of course, that was just after the tragic crash that saw two vehicles upended and 13 of their comrades injured in the accident near Lismore when they were on their way to help the SES. These men and women were, of course, concerned about their comrades, but they were proud of them as well—proud that they were doing what they could to help their fellow Australians in such a selfless way and with such courage. We certainly wish all 13 well in their recovery after this incident. Our nation is certainly grateful for their service.

On behalf of all Australians, I also give my thanks to everyone who worked day and night throughout this event, whether it be those people at the Gold Coast disaster and emergency centre that I travelled to, including the mayor, Tom Tate, or whether it be those at the state emergency operations centre on the Treasurer's home turf at Logan. At Tweed Heads headquarters, with the member for Richmond, I was particularly pleased to walk in and see the crew from Marrickville SES there on that day. They had driven up from near my home and they were there, helping out their SES co-volunteers—quite extraordinary! Indeed, I met people in Queensland and New South Wales who had travelled from South Australia as well and had driven all that way in order to lend a hand to people who they didn't know—quite extraordinary!

In Lismore, I met locals working to build their community's resilience in the face of yet another natural disaster, and I was there with the member for Page, the Deputy Prime Minister and the Minister for Emergency Management. The people of Lismore have really done it tough. They've been hit time and time again, but they have stood up time and time again. And they're determined to continue to look after that local community.

In Hervey Bay last week, I met workers at the council centre, along with the mayor and along with the teachers and kids at the Star of the Sea Catholic Primary School—a school that will visit Canberra. They're not deterred; they'll be here on Thursday of this week. The littlest kids, those in years 1 and 2, were being educated in the library. Others were crowded into some of the meeting rooms because the classrooms had had the carpet ripped up. They still had the stench that comes with a flooding, and there is still quite a bit of repair work needing to be done.

I went to Hendra to visit the headquarters of Disaster Relief Australia with the minister and local member—the member for Lilley. They were doing amazing work there. This is a veteran led organisation made up of 5,000 volunteers, with plans to build their numbers to 7,500 over the coming years. I'm pleased that my government's providing $38 million to provide them with that assistance. Something that really encapsulated their spirit was that, when they lost electricity, those who still had power worked from home, and those still at the headquarters just pulled up the roller door to let the sunlight in and got on with the job. It is a spirit that says a lot about our country.

I do want to thank the premiers, Premier Minns and Premier Crisafulli. There were seamless operations between the three levels of government during this period. I attended Queensland disaster meetings that had different ministers. Jenny McAllister, our Minister for Emergency Management, has almost become a de facto minister in the Crisafulli government as well, given that she sat in those meetings twice a day during that period.

The fact that we worked so seamlessly is, I think, a credit as well to the work that has been done to establish the National Emergency Management Agency. This is something that wasn't around in 2022. The headquarters here, where I went to daily briefings as well, is doing extraordinary work, and there's the work of Brendan Moon in Queensland—a Queenslander on the ground, certainly with the knowledge that comes from that.

As events were unfolding, we provided two Australian emergency helicopters, and we transported 375,000 sandbags, including more than 125,000 from the National Emergency Management Stockpile. That's a stockpile that didn't exist before we established NEMA. We also provided six large generators and supplementary fuel tanks, and we provided approximately 1,200 Australian Defence Force personnel, as well as two ADF helicopters. We have kicked in the Disaster Recovery Funding Arrangements. As of yesterday, the figure of that contributed is in excess of $150 million.

I do want to pay tribute to the workers at NEMA. Many of them are new public servants who are there serving their community. It is so deeply appreciated, and the establishment of NEMA certainly stands as a proud achievement of this government. During this term, we have also established the Disaster Ready Fund, with $1 billion over five years for disaster resilience and mitigation projects; established the National Emergency Management Stockpile to provide assets like sandbags, generators and temporary accommodation; built the capability of the national aerial fleet; and funded Disaster Relief Australia to build that volunteer workforce.

I also want to thank the staff at Services Australia. I went to see them at their headquarters here in Canberra at Tuggeranong. I also visited the thousand of them who were based in Brisbane, providing payments within 24 hours of the applications coming in. And in Hervey Bay, when there was nowhere for them to work, 15 of them worked out of a caravan on the ground. That showed a true commitment to public service.

I do want to conclude by expressing my gratitude to the Minister for Emergency Management, Senator McAllister. She has been quite extraordinary. She left home to go to Queensland. She was wearing a NEMA shirt because she ran out of clothes that she took away. She was borrowing things and just stayed on the ground for such a long period of time. I know that the Queensland Premier, as well as the New South Wales Premier, really appreciated her work.

To everyone who has given up their time and given so freely of their hearts to help their fellow Australians, I thank you. You remind us that we're always better together.

Honourable members: Hear, hear!

Peter Dutton (Dickson, Liberal Party, Leader of the Opposition) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I thank the Prime Minister for his words and for his update. I do also want to add words of thanks to the many people who were involved in what was an incredible preparation period but also those involved in the response period as well.

I had the great fortune of speaking with SES workers and many first responders who were preparing, many of whom had travelled from Townsville and other places which had been affected by natural disaster, most recently in relation to flooding. In fact, I acknowledge—I was just speaking to the member for Herbert before—the flooding that's taking place in Townsville right now and people who are sandbagging and worrying about their businesses and their homes in that greater Townsville area. But they were there, rolling their sleeves up, and they were involved in the response. It was again a demonstration of that great Australian spirit.

The work, in my own case, of the Moreton Bay council and Moreton Bay city, was exemplary. I acknowledge the work of not only Peter Flannery but also Adrian Schrinner in Brisbane City Council and Tom Tate on the Gold Coast, all of whom I caught up with and who did a remarkable job of responding. I also want to acknowledge the work of Premier Crisafulli, who was able to lead the state in an exemplary fashion and, to his great credit, provide the initial planning and the response as well. I want to thank the member for Page, the member for Moncrieff, the member for McPherson and the member for Fadden and all of those who were involved. I was just speaking before to Scott Buchholz, who was talking about growers in his electorate who still hadn't received the necessary support that they needed to get up on their feet again and to recover from what was a very serious event for them.

We know that, for those people in Lismore, as the Prime Minister rightly pointed out, this is yet the latest devastation for them and for their communities. That is something we really acknowledge in this place. There were about 44,000 insurance claims made, but the response of all of those, including Disaster Relief Australia and those in uniform, is something that we acknowledge. We also acknowledge the loss of life of Tom Cook, who was 61 years of age, as well as the 36 Defence Force personnel who were involved in the collision, and we wish a speedy recovery to those who are still unwell and still recovering from what was a terrible event.