Don Farrell (SA, Australian Labor Party, Parliamentary Secretary for Sustainability and Urban Water) Share this | Hansard source

I seek to make some remarks in the address-in reply and pick up a point that Senator Boyce made. There is a very good reason there was nothing in the Governor-General’s address-in-reply about the flood situation in Queensland. That is because it had not happened then. If Senator Boyce were really serious about helping not only the flood victims in Queensland but also the people whose livelihoods have been affected not directly by the flood but by the consequences of the flood, she would be lobbying in her own party to support the proposed flood levy of the federal government. That is really the only serious way that the people of Queensland who have been affected by these dreadful natural disasters are going to be assisted. That is what this federal government is seeking to do.

I would like to dwell upon some of the things that the federal government has done in the water area. As you would be aware, Mr Acting Deputy President, it has been four months since I took over the job as Parliamentary Secretary for Sustainability and Urban Water.