Natasha Griggs (Solomon, Country Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I rise to inform the House of the devastating impact Cyclone Lam had on some of our most remote communities in the Northern Territory over the weekend. The declared state of emergency area includes the communities of Milingimbi, Ramingining, Galiwinku, Gapuwiyak and Mapuru outstations. Whilst this has been a very difficult time for the Top End, it has also brought out the best the community has to offer. Territorians have rushed to help, cooking in shelters, repairing homes, clearing away debris and volunteering in the Foskey Pavilion in Darwin to care for the hundreds of evacuees.

I would like to put on record my thanks to the Northern Territory essential services and the many public servants who worked around the clock on the weekend, also to the Northern Territory government for its proactive management in evacuating people in time, just before the worst of the cyclone hit. I would also like to put on record my thanks to CareFlight NT volunteers and pilots who flew a 400-mile trip around the edge of the cyclone to pick up a premature baby from Gove Airport on the second attempt whilst pounded by 100-kilometre-per-hour winds. Times like this show the enormous community spirit of Territorians. I am really, really proud to be a Territorian. Could I also use the last few moments to say, 'Hello!' to my uncle, my aunty and my cousin. (Time expired)