Joe Ludwig (Queensland, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry) Share this | Hansard source

I thank Senator Furner for his question, as a good Queenslander supporting flood recovery. We are approaching the two-year anniversary of the floods and cyclones that ravaged Queensland.

When disaster first hit, the Gillard government said that we would stand shoulder to shoulder with Queensland every step of the way to repair, recover and rebuild. I can advise the Senate that the Gillard government has done just that, and continues to do that. The rebuilding of communities right across Queensland is a top priority for this government and, you would hope, Queensland.

Across Queensland we have delivered more than $3.5 billion in reconstruction works, and there is another $3.4 billion under construction or out to tender. In just four months, from June to September of this year, over $1 billion of reconstruction was completed. Every damaged school, coalmine and port has been reopened, and only a few national parks still remain closed because of the nature of the damage. More than 92 per cent of damaged state roads have been restored and more than 96 per cent of damaged rail lines have been restored. We have fully reconstructed almost 3,000 kilometres of roads, with another 1,800 kilometres under construction.

I can also report that while we are rebuilding Queensland we are achieving value for money for taxpayers by having the Commonwealth Government Reconstruction Inspectorate in place assessing projects. We have created around $600 million in value. This value for Australian taxpayers is of an order that has never been achieved in past reconstruction efforts and is a testament to the work of the inspectorate in overseeing the work to ensure that we do get value for money. Measures to support councils and their labour costs, particularly in rural and remote areas, will benefit communities and also create a benefit to the Commonwealth of up to $180 billion. (Time expired)