Wyatt Roy (Longman, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

I extend my deepest sympathy and that of my constituents to those who have lost people they love in the terrible events in recent weeks in Queensland. We grieve with you and for you. I also extend our sympathies to those who have lost their livelihoods, their homes and their possessions which held so many memories of lives well lived. There are so many irreplaceable possessions that people will miss: that child’s painting from preschool; that gift from a birthday long ago; that irreplaceable photo. As someone who has experienced the loss of a home, I can empathise. So many homes have been irreparably damaged. The water has taken away people’s sanctuaries and places of safety and so many people have been left displaced. Australia and the rest of the world have been viewing the heartbreaking images of communities throughout Queensland that had been devastated by the floods. No-one can help but be touched by the pictures of homes and businesses that had been torn apart by water. Treasured possessions collected over a lifetime in many, many cases lie in muddy, soggy piles on pavements. The Lockyer Valley is a community in mourning and the rest of the nation mourns with it. This is the human face of the tragedy.

No-one has remained unscathed by this event. My electorate of Longman was affected too, although to a lesser extent than the widespread damage that has affected communities the length and breadth of Queensland. Many homes have been flooded and many businesses have been both directly and indirectly affected. Reeling off numbers somehow diminishes the pain and renders it superficial. I have visited the homes of the families affected and those businesses that are now getting back on their feet. I have visited the evacuation centres in my electorate and heard the stories of those who had fled there. They are not numbers; they are people who have been deeply affected. The floods of 2010-2011 will become a significant part of Queensland’s history and something that has touched all our lives.

In my electorate of Longman we did not suffer the same devastation as we have seen in regional communities such as Emerald and Condamine, in larger centres such as Rockhampton, and in many suburbs of Ipswich and Brisbane affected by these floods. The scale of the destruction and loss in the Lockyer Valley is unprecedented. But, like much of Queensland, we did not remain untouched by the disaster. On the weekend of 8 and 9 January, the rain was unrelenting. Vast sheets of water were falling over my electorate and many other parts of South-East Queensland. On Monday the 10th, the day of the tragedy in Toowoomba and the Lockyer Valley, the rain continued. By Tuesday, 12 January, so much rain had fallen that just before midday the whole of Caboolture and neighbouring Burpengary were issued with orders to evacuate to higher ground as all our creeks and rivers threatened to break their banks. And still the rain kept coming, flooding the Caboolture River, Burpengary Creek, Sideling Creek, King John Creek and Wararba Creek, cutting roads and damaging homes. By 2 pm, the Caboolture River had reached a height of 11 metres and had cut Morayfield Road, the major arterial route through Caboolture.

In Caboolture itself there were many houses flooded in low-lying areas. Affected homes I visited in William Street, Mary Street and Dux Street in Caboolture, and Dale Street in Burpengary, were particularly hard hit. Many of the semi-rural properties in the area were also flooded. For a time on Tuesday, Caboolture was completely isolated, Bribie Island was isolated, and the Bruce Highway was cut in both directions. The communities of Woodford and Kilcoy were isolated for days. Roads were damaged and bridges were completely washed away. Some roads have suffered such significant damage that they are yet to reopen.

I would like to take this opportunity to thank the Seventh Day Adventist Church for collecting donations and assisting people in their time of need. I would also like to acknowledge and thank Bronwyn, Russ, Charles and Phil for giving so generously of their time, yet again, to assist the least fortunate members of our community during this crisis. The ladies at the Woodford evacuation centre, and Michael Wallis, worked tirelessly to provide a refuge, comfort and support to the many that sought shelter there. When I visited the centre, the atmosphere was almost festive and spirits were high. In this nation it is often our sense of humour that carries us through the most difficult of times. Thank you also to the Caboolture RSL for opening its doors to the community at very short notice. It is a measure of the strength, resilience and generosity of the people of Longman that they have considered themselves fortunate not to have suffered the same extensive damage as they have seen in other parts of the state.

My electorate is not a wealthy one and yet my office was overwhelmed with donations of clothes, linen and towels. No sooner did people hear of a request for donations of furniture for flood victims than scores of people were calling my office asking how to organise for their goods to be delivered to those in need. At one stage some charities in my area simply could not accept any more donations because their warehouses and storage facilities were full. I am eternally proud to be part of such a community. So many people that do not have a lot still found something to give.

There were some parts of the emergency response to the floods through my electorate that worked well and some parts of the response that I believe could be improved. The flood event in my electorate was of a different nature to that experienced in Brisbane and Ipswich. Whereas Brisbane and Ipswich had a couple of days of warning of the flooding of the Brisbane and Bremer rivers, we had very little warning. At one stage the Caboolture Hospital was completely isolated by floodwaters.

There is much we can learn from this event. I look forward to being part of the discussion and facilitating input on behalf of my constituents. Many people have contacted my office since the floods. Like most Queenslanders I welcome the commission of inquiry announced by the Premier. Hopefully the outcome will be detailed recommendations regarding improvements that can be made to the emergency response and a thorough analysis of the disaster. I have undertaken to make a submission to the commission of inquiry on behalf of my electorate and have invited my constituents to make contributions and comments via my website and to my office.

We have been seeing and hearing about the devastating effects that the floods have had on those directly impacted by them, but my office has been contacted by a growing number of constituents whose homes are dry and who have not been directly affected by the waters; however, their businesses have been. Truck drivers have not been able to transport goods because the roads have been cut and there are no goods to transport. Other business owners, such as in the case of a pizza business, could not operate for a week because the business was isolated and supplies could not be delivered. There are scores of similar stories I have heard from business owners. They just need a little time to get their cash flow moving again, and I call on financial institutions to be sympathetic to their plight and give them a fair go at this time.

Such tests bring out the best in us Queenslanders. In the face of unspeakable tragedy we have seen remarkable courage and determination. We have seen the most extraordinary acts of generosity, kindness and compassion. We have witnessed a coming together of the community all over Queensland and, indeed, Australia. This will be etched into the memory of this nation long into the future. In Brisbane there were people who had travelled from all corners of the country—from Western Australia, Victoria and New South Wales—to help their fellow Australians when they needed it most. The events of the 2010-11 summer will be remembered for a long time for the devastation wreaked upon our homes, but surely they will also be remembered for the resilience of our community and because, in the face of adversity, the strength of our community was equal to the strength of the wind and the rain.

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