Joel Fitzgibbon (Hunter, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Minister for Agriculture) Share this | Hansard source

and still in heavy rains and floods the access to Gillieston Heights is still being blocked by floods. We are in the 21st century and it is time the state government became very serious about making sure that is not the case and that the residents of Gillieston Heights—I almost said 'Gillieston Island' again!—are not stranded in the way they were during the April storms and again recently. They were not landlocked this time, because it was only blocked off on one side this time, but they were in April. They should never have to experience that again in this modern world. Where we have all the wit in the world, we should be able to address that problem, and money should not be a barrier to such an important project. It does not have to be the lifting of the road; there might be other solutions—for example, a different route for the road. I have heard some alternatives, but whatever it is it should be done and it should be done quickly. Indeed, all three levels of government should be working together to make sure that is the case.

I just want to touch quickly on an area called South Cessnock in my home town. I am going to go back to my youth again. I remember when I was on Cessnock City Council, wading through water that was waist-deep in South Cessnock, helping local residents sandbag to protect their homes from the flood. South Cessnock is still flooding. In heavy rains it floods. I am not too critical of the council; I know it has a strategy or plan that is working on the issue. But I think South Cessnock residents, many of whom were there all those years ago and well before I was wading through the water, deserve to have that problem addressed. They have had water through their homes on too many occasions, and surely in the 21st century we have both the finances and the wit to do something about that problem.

These events are a reminder that we cannot control the weather. We cannot control Mother Nature. Mother Nature is far more powerful than any technology we have, including nuclear capacity. When the volcano goes off or the winds or the high seas come—the tsunami—and wipes an island continent out, there is nothing human beings can do. We need to take care of our environment.

I have never been described as a rabid environmentalist. I prefer to describe myself as a conservationist and a person who believes that we do have to take more care of our environment. If there is any suggestion that the endeavours of the human kind are causing our weather patterns to become more erratic and less predictable, we should be doing something about it and taking any measure as a precautionary principle to make sure that we are, as best we can, as a human race protecting ourselves because, again, when Mother Nature speaks we do not have the answers. We can go out and help as best we can and protect ourselves as best we can, but we cannot protect ourselves from the most erratic weather events. So we should be taking a public policy approach that reassures people that, as best we can, we are making sure that the activities of the human race are not making those events more likely.

I support the Prime Minister and the Leader of the Opposition, and I am pleased that they put this motion forward. It is important to those who have been affected by weather events. Certainly, from my perspective, it is a very, very important opportunity to pay tribute to all those who have helped in the recent events and those before them and no doubt will do so in the future, giving up their time and risking their lives to help others in need.

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