Sussan Ley (Farrer, Liberal Party, Leader of the Opposition) Share this | Hansard source

I'm pleased to join the Prime Minister in acknowledging the deep hardship being experienced by Australians across our country as they confront the devastating aspects and impacts of fire and floods. From communities facing catastrophic bushfire conditions along the New South Wales-Victoria border and in parts of South Australia and Western Australia to families and businesses still reeling from widespread flooding in Queensland and northern NSW, Australians are once again being tested by a landscape that is both extraordinary and unforgiving. I am always reminded of the beauty and the terror from Dorothea Mackellar's iconic poem.

In recent weeks, I've been on the ground in flood affected communities across North Queensland. I've been in Cloncurry, Julia Creek, Richmond and Mount Isa, speaking directly to families, pastoralists and local leaders whose lives and livelihoods have been turned upside down. The No. 1 thing you see in their eyes is exhaustion, fatigue, but, behind it, there is great anxiety for what the future holds, great pain for what they've gone through and great, great shock. I've also spent time with emergency services on the New South Wales-Victoria border in the upper Murray region, where I spent 17 years of my life as a farmer and where my family and community still lives. So it was very close and personal to see firsthand the damage that was done there only recently. It reminds me that those communities are, too soon, going through something that they went through in 2020 in the Black Summer fires. Similarly, for North Queensland, 2019 was a time of dreadful flooding.

I want to say that when the weather is at its worst, Australians really are at their very best, and the most important thing is to acknowledge those who are directly affected. That includes families who are forced to evacuate. But when fires and floods have an impact like this, we must always put our farmers front and centre. They are the people who work the land, the people who care for their livestock and the people who will only leave their farms if they absolutely have to. When I look at the picture of Max Hobson, who lost his life in the Longwood bushfire—and I pass on our deepest condolences to his family—I see a farmer. I see an iconic bloke from the bush and his stoicism, fortitude, calm and commonsense. You can imagine him leaning on the rails at the stockyards, coping with everything and dealing with the highs and lows of life on the land. It's a life that he has now lost, and his family and community are devastated. There are those who've lost homes, there are those who've lost stock, crops, machinery, fences, businesses or treasured belongings, and there are those who are trying to keep going while carrying the emotional weight of having been through it all before.

I want to place on record the opposition's gratitude to those extraordinary Australians who respond on the frontline. To our volunteer firefighters, our SES crews, our police, our paramedics, our Defence personnel, our council workers and the many community volunteers: a really big 'thank you'. As I met crews from the CFA, from Queensland and from the NSW RFS in the Tallangatta incident centre in north-east Victoria, it was quite clear that they'd all dropped everything to be there, and that's what you always see. Whatever they've left behind, they have done so willingly to come and lend a hand.

I particularly thank our aviation crews and pilots. I've seen helicopter pilots in outback Queensland flying mission after mission from dawn till dusk. They are as exhausted as the people they are helping, knowing just to get that last load of hay, pick up that last stranded person or see some evidence of where stock might be gathering might help and support them the next day. We thank them and every person involved in the planning, coordination and logistics that support these efforts.

Recovery is a long process. It takes time, it takes resources, and it takes support. It requires governments at every level to stay engaged, not just in the immediate crisis but in the weeks and months that follow. In Richmond, I heard directly from local leaders and landholders about all those practical realities of recovery: restocking, rebuilding fences, restoring yards and managing animal welfare—it's always at the top of the list. The anguish and heartbreak of a farmer who has lost his land and his fences but not his cattle or sheep is a totally different experience from one who has. The anxiety they have for their cattle as they recover is beautiful to behold because it demonstrates that bond between those who manage the land and the spirit of Australia.

But we heard something so important there from the mayor in Richmond. He said, in words that stayed with me, that disaster packages save lives, literally. He said that, in 2019, support announced in the midst of a crisis changed the course of people's lives and gave hope to those who felt they could not continue—and hope matters in disaster recovery. It's not abstract; it's real. It's often the difference between despair and the determination to rebuild. That's why it's so important that assistance is delivered quickly. The goal must be to help people get back on their feet, not to add further strain through complexity or bureaucracy at a time of such profound loss.

I want to assure Australians in these affected areas, as I know the Prime Minister has, that they're not alone. They often feel that a lot of attention is paid in the days after the disaster, as it should be, and then those communities can fade from our public consciousness. I know that everyone in this parliament is determined that that not happen—that we are there for those communities over the years ahead. Remember that they are Australians who don't ask for help, but they need a lot of help, and so we must make sure that they get it.

Australia has faced disasters before. We'll face them again. Every time, we are reminded of not only the power of nature but the resilience of the Australian people. I know that spirit will carry communities through the difficult days ahead, and the opposition stands with all those in this place and the other place to support them in whatever way we can.

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