Peter Slipper (Fisher, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

I know the member for Kooyong would certainly appreciate the kind words being uttered by his colleague opposite. Returning to the motion before the House, I suppose it is not quite as bad if our senior officers retire early, as long as we can use them fully and productively the way that General Peter Cosgrove will be used to apply his undoubted organisational skills in helping to improve the situation following the arrival of Cyclone Larry.

North Queensland people are resilient. The member for Brisbane pointed that out to the chamber. While people do expect the occasional cyclone—and I mentioned how, when I lived in North Queensland, cyclones were the order of the day—the total devastation caused by Cyclone Larry is very much a once-in-a-lifetime situation. When you look at the fact that there was devastation of almost all crops, that 45 schools were closed, that there was disruption to services such as electricity, sewerage, water and medical services and a total shutdown of industries like tourism, farming and even corner shops, you have to appreciate that, although cyclones are not uncommon in North Queensland, this was an extraordinarily uncommon sort of cyclone for North Queensland to have.

A storm of this magnitude had not been seen in Australia for about 100 years. It is rare. Although people know about the risk of cyclones, they certainly would not expect to see a cyclone like Larry. Many people have drawn a comparison between Cyclone Larry and Hurricane Katrina. They were both, I understand, of similar force. As the member for Brisbane pointed out, Hurricane Katrina brought out the worst in many people, but, ironically, Cyclone Larry brought out the best in people in Australia.

It is not possible to restore all services overnight, and there were some complaints from some people who said that everything should be fixed overnight or in 30 minutes. But most people would appreciate that governments are doing what they can, as they should be doing, and that it just is not possible to overcome the damage caused by a cyclone of the strength of Cyclone Larry in five minutes.

Like other honourable members, I was really impressed with the way the local community pulled together—the way in which people supported their friends and their neighbours. People who in many cases had lost just about everything were able to get in there and help those who were even less fortunate.

The long-term economic effect of Cyclone Larry is going to be very substantial. We hope that people are able to repair their financial fortunes, their businesses and their homes as quickly as possible. I was also pleased to hear that the bankers in Australia appear to be assisting people in the area, as are insurers. It is a time for action. It is a time for cooperation. It is a time for working together. I am proud as an Australian to see that all of those things seem to be happening at this time.

Of course, when one does have a cyclone like Larry, there is a need for immediate short-term assistance. All of those services were available and were carried out in a very admirable way. I would just like to add my compliments to the statements made by other members in this debate praising all of the emergency services and people generally for the way they cooperated in bringing about immediate relief to those people who so needed it.

There will be a long-term reconstruction effort that—by definition—will take somewhat longer to occur, but it really is important that as many people as possible are able to continue to live in that area, because many people have been there for generations. If we are able to create a situation where their lives are able to be rebuilt and as much as possible restored, those certainly would be steps in the right direction.

The Prime Minister in the parliament earlier this week, I think, said that assistance for a disaster like this is a work in progress and that what the government does is to look at immediate needs and, as time goes on and other needs manifest themselves, governments respond positively. I am quite confident that both the Australian and Queensland governments will continue to do this.

The people of Far North Queensland were expecting to have this sort of natural disaster happen on occasion, but nobody either expected or deserved a category 5 cyclone. Apparently, because it was travelling at a certain speed, it created damage of a different nature from the damage so often created by other cyclones. In fact, I gather that there were communities devastated by Cyclone Larry which had not felt the impact of cyclones in the past.

Cyclone Larry has literally ripped a great proportion of life out of North Queensland, the North Queensland town of Innisfail and other towns in that area. It is a testament to the courage and determination of North Queenslanders that the rebuilding effort and the clean-up are so effective.

I realise that it is very easy for us to stand in the parliament and utter words of support. Those words of support might make people feel better momentarily but they do not deliver the services that are required. But I believe that governments, community organisations, the military forces and ordinary citizens are working well in a great cooperative effort to bring life back to normal as soon as possible so that people are able to get on with their everyday lives.

I stand in the parliament today to salute the efforts and the courage of the people of North Queensland and to salute the efforts of all of those at government, non-government and community levels who have been working so hard to redress the appalling devastation and damage that has occurred as a result of the recent descent of Cyclone Larry in Far North Queensland. I commend the motion to the House.

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