Mark Furner (Queensland, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

As a Queensland senator, I firstly offer my deepest condolences to those families of the 22 lost lives in this nation’s greatest natural disaster. Additionally, I extend my condolences to the family of the young man in North Queensland who was trying to ready himself before the onslaught of the state’s most powerful cyclone—Cyclone Yasi. I also acknowledge the enormous effort of our defence personnel, our emergency service workers and so many volunteers in responding to these disasters.

On 11 January, the Queensland Premier, Anna Bligh, declared three-quarters of Queensland a disaster zone. Brisbane, Bundaberg, Dalby, Gladstone, Gold Coast, Gympie, Ipswich, Logan, Maryborough, Rockhampton, Roma, Sunshine Coast, Toowoomba, Warwick and Redcliffe are only a few of the areas affected by this disaster and were declared disaster areas. In my duty electorate of Brisbane, thousands of residents, by Thursday, were fleeing to higher ground with the Brisbane River expected to peak above 1974 levels. Later that week, we found out that the river was not going to peak above 5.45 metres. But the scope of the devastation was still widespread with Brisbane’s population much higher than it was in 1974 and much of the clear land then is now residential area.

The Queensland floods took a massive toll on our state, claiming not only thousands of homes but also the lives of Queenslanders. One example that I can reflect on is the level of water in a small north-western town, just up the road from Brisbane, called Peachester. Only late last year I was there opening the library in the Building the Education Revolution program. The level there was 835 millimetres in the week, which clearly demonstrates the volume of water that was delivered in our state.

Later on in that week I felt compelled to go out into my duty electorate and visit as many constituents as possible to ensure that they were fine, aware of their government entitlements and were recovering. The first area I targeted was Longman. I went to Narangba Valley on the Thursday, followed by Caboolture the following day. I visited the Narangba Valley with the state member for Morayfield, Mark Ryan, knocking on houses in an estate that backs onto Burpengary Creek. I remember Burpengary Creek quite well, having been a local resident there some time ago. I recall the creek flooding in those times to something greater than just a creek and amounting to a river. Sure enough, as a result of expansion and the urban population of those areas, neighbours were affected in those areas of Narangba Valley. I found neighbours helping neighbours recovering from inundation which had affected their floor coverings and various other types of furniture close to the ground. One such family that, although not affected, rolled up its sleeves and gave a helping hand was Tina and Steve Murnane of Hideaway Close, Narangba. This is just an example, one of many, of the true Australian spirit that was demonstrated in this terribly damaging natural disaster.

Quickly though, as I doorknocked that area, residents turned their anger towards the insurance companies. Some were, under their policies, covered for storm damage only and were later found wanting when they sought to make claims. They found that storm damage did not cover inundation of their homes caused by the flooding of nearby creeks. The next day I visited the residents in Male Road, Caboolture, which is an area that is predominantly acreage and backs onto King John Creek. King John Creek, in that week, flooded the Bruce Highway and shut the highway for a period of time. So it gives you an idea of the extent of the flooding in this particular area. Similar to the residents in Narangba Valley, those residents had not before seen rainfall to the extent that they had received in this particular area and were affected by flood inundation in their homes. Later that afternoon I visited the Caboolture Caravan Park with the state member for Pumicestone, Ms Carryn Sullivan. Equally, the Caboolture River flooded affecting many residents in that particular caravan park who lost many, if not all, of their possessions.

The following week I turned my attention to the seat of Brisbane and in particular the suburbs of Albion and Milton. This is where memories flooded back, having lived through the 1974 floods as a young teenager and a Brisbane born boy helping residents to evacuate their homes in that year. I reflected back to the time when I helped one particular resident in Thistle Street, Lutwyche, when at that time the house bordered Kedron Brook. I recall removing the furniture from the home—an old Queenslander on wooden stumps—and the last piece of furniture removed was a piano before the house slid off its stumps into the river and got washed away.

The stark reality that I saw in 2011 was quite similar to 1974 and proudly, as a Queenslander, that traditional Aussie spirit was not lost or washed away either. People were turning up in their droves to help one another. After meeting with constituents who had had their homes inundated by flood waters, and seeing such destruction in homes and seeing people who had lost everything, I was amazed to see the whole community come together and lend a helping hand. This is the true Aussie mateship that I referred to: mate helping mate. People who were not affected by the floods opened their doors to those who needed a place to stay. Some put their hands up to work in volunteer centres and some were just turned away because the volume of volunteers was too great. Some they did not even know. Some got in there and started shovelling the mud away and some even walked around with cold bottles of drink, sandwiches, food and home-cooked items and handed them out to the volunteers during this time. This is the Queensland and Aussie spirit and the very reason I am proud to be a Queenslander. I saw this Aussie spirit firsthand when delivering a pallet load of water to the Oxley evacuation centre the week after the flooding of Brisbane. The water was kindly donated by National Foods from the Berri plant at Lytton and my thanks and appreciation go to the operations manager, Peter Finn, who had already the previous week donated some 19 pallets of water to the Brisbane evacuation centre.

There at the Oxley centre, I saw complete strangers—even a handful of backpackers here on holiday—prepared to help their fellow Australians and Queenslanders and going through induction programs to get ready for the daily clean-up ahead of them. That Aussie spirit extended, as it so often does, with the community coming together and offering its generosity in contributing to the Premier’s Disaster Relief Appeal. I saw two amazing acts of consideration—firstly, a fundraiser at Club Pine Rivers in northern Brisbane and, secondly, a huge fundraiser conducted by the Vietnamese community at Bankstown in Sydney.

What started out at Club Pine Rivers as a mere sausage sizzle grew through enthusiasm into a massive event. The outpouring of generosity was just overwhelming—seeing locals and the executive of the club pitching together to make sure they raised money for this appeal. Recognition for the success of this fundraiser goes to the president, Bob Ebborn, to the CEO, Wayne Moffat, and to Peter O’Grady for making this event happen. This is just another fine example of how clubs in Queensland assist their local communities. Additionally, I wish to thank all the Broncos and Lions football players who gave up their time to be involved in the day as well as all the other sporting identities, such as Olympian Jessicah Schipper, who appeared in order to assist in raising funds. I also extend my sincere gratitude to the star attraction of the day, the Veronicas—Jessica and Lisa Origliasso—with their brother Julian, for being so accommodating in raising money for this worthy cause. What commenced as a 1½ hour visit to the club to assist in the fundraising turned into a much greater involvement, with the girls even offering to be auctioned off as companions for dinner at the club to raise even more money. In total, the event raised $25,600 on the day. In addition to the Club Pine Rivers fundraiser, I am aware that the Vietnamese community of Sydney has been hard at it in raising $140,000. In acknowledging them, I single out Dr Vinh Binh Lieu, head of the Vietnamese-Australian Charity Organisation, and the rest of the organising committee for their amazing efforts.

To assist in dealing with the devastation, the federal government acted swiftly in implementing the Australian government disaster recovery payment through Centrelink, which provided $1,000 per adult and $400 per child for those affected by the flooding. According to Treasury, as of midnight on 2 February, 349,000 claims totalling $411 million had been paid out to affected Queenslanders. The Labor government has also provided assistance to those who are unable to earn an income because of the flooding. We know how hard it is for our working families. The disaster income recovery subsidy is $469.70 per fortnight for singles for a maximum of 13 weeks. Already more than 36,000 claims totalling $16 million have been made for the disaster income recovery subsidy. The federal government is also providing other financial assistance through the state government.

We know it is not going to be an easy task—we have a massive job ahead of us to rebuild flood affected regions. It is estimated that the federal government will need $5.6 billion to help rebuild Queensland in the wake of the floods. As an example of the economic effect of this devastation, trade figures released show that coal exports slid five per cent in November as the wet weather gathered pace. Flooding has affected more than 40 mines and the Port of Gladstone has abandoned exports. Some of our biggest producers in the coalmining area have suspended sales contracts and production runs until waters recede. Tourism has also been affected by the bad weather and we hope that this crucial part of the economy—particularly crucial in North Queensland—gets back to its feet very soon.

In closing, the Labor government is committed to getting Queenslanders back on their feet after the devastation of the Queensland floods. I believe it is important that we have bipartisan support to assist in rebuilding Queensland, helping people back into their jobs and helping Queenslanders get their lives back on track. Finally, I will steal a quote from the Premier, Anna Bligh:

We are Queenslanders. We’re the people that they breed tough, north of the border. We’re the ones that they knock down, and we get up again.

I think that is indicative of all Australians.