Scott Morrison (Cook, Liberal Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Hansard source

I thank the member for her question about the Townsville floods—the floods, I think, that have affected North Queensland more generally. I appreciate the member's interest in this issue. It's been several days now that we've been back in the parliament, so I welcome the question from the member.

The ministerial task force which is focused on the rebuilding, reconstruction and recovery for North Queensland was convened on Monday evening. That ministerial task force is overseeing the government's continued response to the flood crisis in Northern Queensland. I particularly want to commend all those in the Department of Human Services who have expedited some $90 million worth of payments to ensure that people in Townsville are getting that emergency support that they so desperately need. We moved immediately to remove and extend some of the eligibility requirements for those emergency payments, and that ensured that within days, almost immediately, those payments were flowing. I was pleased to be able to visit Townsville very soon after the floods and meet with the mayor, the crisis workers there and the other emergency services workers, and I commend them on the incredible work they've been doing.

Now, we will stand with all of those in North Queensland, as we have in our immediate response, during both the recovery phase and the rebuilding phase into the future. I want to thank the Queensland government for the excellent relationship we've had working closely with them. So, not a day will pass without my government doing every single thing that is needed to support the people of North Queensland—every single day. I can only say that if the member was so concerned about the financial support that we provided—

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