Kevin Rudd (Griffith, Australian Labor Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Hansard source

I will pick up on the interjection from the Leader of the National Party, who once again comes in on cue. Why is there a gap when it comes to the delivery of meteorology services in Emerald? The reason is that for the last 10 or 11 years nothing has been done about it. I have before me here a letter to the current Minister for the Environment, Heritage and the Arts from the Emerald Shire Council addressed to you know who: it is the member for Flinders, who has been particularly vocal in this place in recent days. It says:

We have lodged two previous submissions, the last one in 2003. Specifically, I refer to a letter of response from the Hon. Greg Hunt, MP, received by council in December 2004. Since the receipt of this letter, we have had no further correspondence or advice in this matter.

That is three years of inertia, three years of inaction, three years of not providing effective meteorology services to local communities that need it. Since then, we have had these extraordinary developments in extreme weather events in and around Emerald, directly affecting that community, and we have here an epistle of indifference from the member for Flinders. We are acting on this. We have committed to ensuring that Emerald forms part of the Bureau of Meteorology network in Queensland and—in response to the representations of the member for Capricornia, the member for Flynn and other members, including the member for Leichhardt and also the member for Bass—the retention of those meteorology services in those areas.

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