Robert Oakeshott (Lyne, Independent) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I rise to talk about the floods that have taken place on the mid-North Coast of New South Wales, to say a few thankyous and to give a report to the parliament on an event of last week that might have received greater significance in this place if there were not such devastating events happening elsewhere, both north and south, on the east coast of Australia. I start on that point because probably what I am most proud about from last week is the ‘two-bucket’ mentality of the local communities of the mid-North Coast. While they had a bucket and mop in one hand for cleaning out shops and homes, there was still very much a commitment to the greater good within Australia through the ‘bucket drive’ of support for victims of the Victorian bushfires, in particular. This was still going on, despite people being very wet. The fundraising campaign is going on throughout the mid-North Coast, despite it being in fairly deep waters as a result of the flooding. It was certainly a proud moment for me to see that, and it is something for all of us to reflect on in a positive way as far as community is concerned.

‘No lives lost’ is an old surf club term, and the mid-North Coast was very lucky to be able to use it throughout the past week. There were seven serious rescues. Not much airtime was given to that, but things could have gone wrong very easily. So I very much thank the various agencies, particularly the state based agencies, for their rescue and recovery efforts. The SES have now centralised their phone number system, with the 132500 number, and that made a big difference on the ground. It made it very easy for those in need. I thank those state agencies, including the police and the other agencies.

I will also mention the ABC. With all the disaster relief that has been happening, the ABC do deserve a wrap—and they have been mentioned in various speeches from members. I know they are putting a funding submission to the government at the moment. I hope that is considered. They are an emergency service in regional areas.

I have met with the Insurance Council of Australia. About $5 million of insurance claims are in so far. You can draw a comparison with about $800 million of claims in Victoria. That shows the difference, but there have been about 300 claims from the mid-North Coast so far.

I am about to meet with the Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry and thank him for his commitment to the primary producers who may have some issues. I will continue to talk at length with him.

The key issue for government to consider is the damage to local infrastructure. The area does have natural disaster relief under state rules. However, if there were any funding for local roads and bridges from the federal government, it would certainly help significantly in the rebuilding following last week’s events.