Robert McClelland (Barton, Australian Labor Party, Attorney-General) Share this | Hansard source

I thank the member for Capricornia for her question. I commend the work she has done representing her electorate during a spate of natural disasters and those on both sides of the House who have done an excellent job in that respect. The winter has given us a reprieve, I suppose, from the cyclone season and from bushfires, but regrettably not so with respect to floods. Just this week, we declared four additional local government areas as being flood affected. They were in the mid-North Coast and the Hunter regions of New South Wales, making a total of 18 local government areas entitled to assistance.

Natural disasters are of course just that: a natural part of our environmental history. But so is the ability of the Australian people to respond and to bounce back from those disasters. Communities all around Australia are rebuilding and indeed rebuilding so that they are even stronger and more resilient. The federal government are assisting in that respect. For instance, in Queensland we have made an advanced payment of some $2½ billion for the reconstruction effort. So far much is occurring: 6,627 kilometres of roads have been repaired of the 9,170 kilometres damaged; 4,421 of rail repaired of a total of 4,748; 411 schools have been re-opened and 11 ports; and, in the member for Capricornia's electorate, with the Queensland government we have given $900,000 to the Rockhampton Regional Council to undertake emergency repairs on the runway at the airport.

In the longer term, we are contributing $144 million to repairs of the Bruce Highway near Cardwell; in south-west Queensland, $192 million to repairs to the Warrego and Landsborough highways; $84 million to Cunninghams Gap; and, in the Mackay and Whitsundays regions, we are contributing some $300 million to repairs to the regional roads. That project alone is going to result in 1,050 jobs repairing some 257 kilometres of roadways. Other communities around Australia are also being assisted. The Minister for Regional Australia, Regional Development and Local Government announced low-cost loans for those areas affected by the recent Victorian floods for businesses, primary producers and not-for-profit organisations. In Western Australia, the Gascoyne region was also affected by floods. We have undertaken repairs to the North Western Coastal Highway, and also main roads have been reopened around the Gascoyne Junction. Assistance has also been provided under the Natural Disaster Relief and Recovery Arrangements to New South Wales, South Australia and Tasmania.

Around Australia we are in a situation where we are now transitioning from disaster recovery to long-term reconstruction. To have achieved so much in such a relatively short period of time is quite remarkable. That is a tribute to governments of all persuasions around the country working in partnerships and with non-government organisations. Wherever possible we are focusing on betterment—that is, ensuring that any repair and reconstruction work is at a higher standard. This is going to make our country in turn more resilient and in the future more capable of preventing, responding to and recovering from natural disasters that are a natural part of our environment.

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