Joe Ludwig (Queensland, Australian Labor Party, Manager of Government Business in the Senate) Share this | Hansard source

I am sorry that the opposition do not want to hear this. Under these arrangements, the Australian government provided immediate additional assistance to the people adversely affected by the storms that battered the region on Sunday, 16 November. The assistance was then extended in the south-east to cover those seriously affected by further storms and flash flooding on 19 and 20 November. The funding provided immediate financial assistance to anyone who had been seriously injured as a direct result of the disaster or whose principal place of residence had been destroyed or significantly damaged. The funding included grants for food, clothing, accommodation and emergency repairs to housing. Of course, under the national emergency management arrangements activated, up to 800 defence personnel were deployed from the Enoggera Army base in Brisbane to work closely with the SES to help clear roads and storm damage— (Time expired)