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

Thanks again, Senator Sheldon, for your ongoing work when it comes to disaster recovery. On Friday last week I travelled to Normanton and Burketown, Gulf of Carpentaria communities, and was able meet with locals and see the devastating flooding that those communities have experienced firsthand. I want to thank and acknowledge the member for Kennedy, Mr Bob Katter, for his advocacy and for joining me as we toured some of the areas of highest impact. I also thank Senator Green for her ongoing advocacy to both the federal and state governments for these communities.

I also want to thank the mayors of the Carpentaria and Burke shires, Jack Bowden and Ernie Camp, as well as other members of the Burke Shire Council, who gave me a tour of some of the damage in the community. In addition, I'll be meeting Mr Camp and the mayor of Doomadgee council, Mr Jason Ned, while they're in Canberra this week. On the same day that I visited these communities we made the Australian government disaster recovery payment available to residents in the Queensland local government areas of Boulia, Burke and Mount Isa. This is the one-off payment of $1,000 per eligible adult and $400 per eligible child, for those who have suffered a significant loss as a result of the floods, including through a severely damaged or destroyed home or a serious injury.