George Christensen (Dawson, National Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I rise to highlight the plight of residents in Hydeaway Bay in my electorate of Dawson. The threat to life and property from the Queensland floods and Cyclone Yasi has passed, and life goes on smoothly for most. But that is not the case for the residents of Hydeaway Bay. They were very lucky that no-one was killed or seriously injured when, after the deluge of rain we got in the north in the months following Cyclone Yasi, tonnes of mud and rock slid down the side of the mountain earlier this year, narrowly missing homes and forcing the evacuation of dozens of families from the area. I have since had several meetings with residents of Hydeaway Bay who have emotional tales of fear and uncertainty that continue today.

They heard the terrible roar as mud and rocks as big as small cars crashed through trees, swept through their yards and passed their homes. It happened again and again during those few days. They know it can happen again even now, but they do not know when or where. Any noise in the night makes them ask, 'Is this the one?' Residents of Hydeaway Bay now know that landslides have happened there before. They have been told that a council engineer advised that the hill was unstable and should not be developed, but it was developed. People bought blocks of land unaware of the history of the site or the potential for landslides. These residents formed an action group in a bid to fix the problem. They have requested a geotechnical survey to determine the extent of the problem and they want stabilising work to be carried out. If the area cannot be made safe they want the local government to buy back properties, as has been the case in other areas.

For my part, I sought to secure disaster relief payments for residents who had to evacuate their homes because of the landslide, which was essentially caused by heavy rain. Sadly my request was denied by the Attorney-General this month for reasons I could not really work out, but the biggest hurdle to my efforts and the efforts of the local action group is the local mayor, Mike Brunker, who has swept residents' concerns aside and actively derided attempts to secure disaster relief payments. In doing so, he has basically signalled that he thinks the residents of Hydeaway Bay were better off after this landslide than some of the people in the town of Bowen who had no electricity for two days after Cyclone Yasi hit and yet received disaster relief payments. I can assure Mr Brunker that the events at Hydeaway Bay were very different. They were life-threatening and will continue to be life-threatening until something is done. I have seen damaged properties, including one with probably more than $10,000 worth of damage. Immediately after the event, Mr Brunker was quoted in the Townsville Bulletin as saying:

I'm worried about the people living there and they are worried as well.

Two weeks later he changed his tune when talking to the ABC and said that the event was not significant enough to activate the funding because:

… no-one's been in hardship, so no payments will be required.

Is this a backflip brought on by recognition of negligence on the local government's part? Either way, Mr Brunker has proved that he is in no way capable of representing ordinary people. I have written to the Queensland recovery authority and Major General Mick Slater to request a site visit and request that the authority advise the state government or force the council to rectify the problem.