Murray Watt (Queensland, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I rise tonight to speak on something which I think most Queenslanders, certainly, and most Australians have been monitoring closely over the last few days, the impact of Tropical Cyclone Debbie, which hit the Queensland coast around lunchtime today. For several days now we have watched with a growing sense of dread the Bureau of Meteorology forecasts and radar as the cyclone grew in strength as it approached the North Queensland coastline. We are only now starting to get reports of the damage that has been caused as a result of this fierce category 4 cyclone. Some of the reports that we have received so far are that there have been wind gusts of up to 260 kilometres an hour as it passed over Hamilton Island and not much less as it hit the coast.

Even as the cyclone moves inland and has been downgraded, I think to category 3, it still has very high winds, which are causing a lot of damage as it works its way inland. The fact that it has been a very slow moving cyclone means that it has dumped an awful lot of rain wherever it travels, so I think we can expect to be hearing before too long reports of massive flooding, which will have very severe impacts on the North Queensland community. Obviously, wind gusts and torrential rain like that we have seen over the last 24 hours or so have a lot of effects. I know there are tens of thousands of houses in North Queensland which have lost power. Hundreds of schools have closed and tens of thousands of people have been evacuated from their homes. Obviously, most of the major transport connections, whether they be road, rail or air, have had to be closed until the worst of the cyclone has passed.

Apart from the immediate impact that this is having on North Queensland, when we see large cyclones like this in North Queensland we also unfortunately see very long lasting economic damage to communities. The area that the cyclone has passed through, around the Whitsundays, is one of Queensland's and Australia's most important tourism destinations. I am sure that many in this chamber have taken holidays there and know many others who have as well. The tourism industry is a major employer in that part of Queensland. I am very concerned to see what kind of effect this is going to have on the tourism industry. We have seen that other large cyclones like this have caused long-lasting damage to tourist facilities. I think that it will take several days before we can be fully aware of what the impact is going to be.

Cyclones like this can also potentially have massive effects on the natural environment: whether we are talking about rainforests or the Great Barrier Reef. As we know, the reef is already under threat from climate change and other factors, so it would be terrible if we were to hear that this cyclone has caused further damage to the reef.

It is likely that there is going to be extensive flooding through North Queensland as a result of this cyclone. Parts of Queensland are in drought and would welcome the rain, but I suspect that they are not looking for the level of rain they are getting right now. That most likely will also have some very damaging effects on agriculture and communities in that part of our state.

Over the course of the day I have made contact with a number of senior officials in Queensland, both to check on the situation and to offer any help that can be provided. I spoke this afternoon to the Queensland Deputy Premier, Jackie Trad, who will be overseeing the disaster response for the Queensland government. I have made contact with the Premier's office, with a number of state and federal MPs in the region and with the mayor of Whitsunday shire, Andrew Wilcox. I know that I am not alone, certainly among Queensland Labor senators but I suspect all senators here, in offering whatever support we can provide to the affected communities and governments in the days ahead.

I will mention in passing that there have been issues between the state government and the federal government over spending for NDRRA, the emergency assistance that is provided by the Commonwealth government. Today is not the day to be making political points about this, but I do just ask the Commonwealth government to have a generous attitude when it is assessing applications for funding to help repair this damage. These kinds of storms, when they come through, cause literally billions of dollars in damage, and it is important that the federal government does not take a penny-pinching approach in trying to help us repair this damage.

When we see cyclones like this, we also see the best of Queensland and see communities come together. I wish all the emergency services and energy workers well in the repair job.