House debates

Wednesday, 18 June 2008

Appropriation Bill (No. 1) 2008-2009

Consideration in Detail

4:08 pm

Photo of James BidgoodJames Bidgood (Dawson, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

I have a number of questions for the Attorney-General about the appropriation bill. As the Attorney-General would be aware, preparing for natural disasters such as floods is of critical importance to the people in my electorate of Dawson, which lies on the Central Queensland coast. Earlier this year my electorate, particularly the area around Mackay, was hit by serious floods, resulting in large-scale evacuations and significant damage and disruption. Of course, it is important to recognise that preparing for natural disasters is an issue of increasing urgency for communities across Australia. I am pleased to say that with the election of the Rudd government we finally have a federal government that is prepared to face the reality of climate change and the challenges it poses for our economy and our community. So I ask the Attorney-General: what does the Rudd government’s first budget do to assist communities across our nation to become better prepared and more resilient to hazards and disasters such as storms and floods? Finally, it is plainly a sad reality of the times that threats to our community infrastructure come not just from natural disasters but also from human sources, in particular the threat of terrorism from those who wish to do us harm. I ask the Attorney-General if he would outline to the community what the government’s budget contains to help with the protection of critical infrastructure from threats, both natural and man-made.

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