Michelle Landry (Capricornia, National Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The recovery continues in Rockhampton and on the Capricorn Coast after the devastation caused by Cyclone Marcia. Last week, I travelled through the worst-affected areas, near Byfield, where the cyclone hit as a category 5 system. Initially, I inspected the area by helicopter with Rockhampton based Senator Matthew Canavan. From the air, the Byfield area looks like it was hit by a bomb or razed by a bushfire. From a birds-eye view, vast tracks of pine plantations are flattened, while beautiful rainforest has been damaged beyond belief.

Farms are also in ruins. On the Vass macadamia plantation, 2,000 trees were pushed over by the wind. These trees were nearly 50 years old. The timber industry also faces devastation. Ron and Brendan O'Connor operate TMS, a timber milling company in Byfield. They invested $35 million into the region. Before the cyclone, they had a 20-year supply of pine forests, but, sadly, 18 years of timber was flattened by the cyclone. This scenario puts the future of their investment, the timber industry and many jobs in jeopardy.

Senator Canavan and I met with small business owners in Byfield. Here, we heard countless stories of hardship and devastation. As the recovery phase continues, one of the best ways we can help small business to recover is by spending money there. Businesses, getting back up and running, now need visitors to return. I encourage people from all over Australia to head to Byfield, book cabin accommodation, buy a meal and spend locally. With everyone's help, we can get this local economy buzzing again. Last week, I visited 15 businesses and farms, including Warren and Jean O'Leary's Rainforest Ranch and Rod and Ellen Taylor's Byfield store and bush cafe. Both the O'Learys and the Taylors have worked hard together to cater for weddings in the area and they have lost a lot of income, with up to nine weddings cancelled due to the cyclone alone. These are examples of small businesses that need visitors to return to help kick-start the local economy.

The general damage bill from the cyclone exceeds $200 million. The Prime Minister last week signed off on category C disaster assistance for primary producers in the Livingstone shire and Rockhampton areas. Grants of up to $25,000 are now available for eligible producers. We now urgently need the category C status to be applied to small businesses as well. This is currently in the hands of the Queensland government.

I also took a road trip through Byfield, stopping at various small businesses and farms. There were many highlights which I want to relay to the House tonight. Ferns Hideaway Resort and restaurant has reopened. This is a famous Byfield getaway owned by John 'Marto' and Genevieve Martin. Aside from its rustic cabins, creek kayaks and popular restaurant, Ferns is also famous for Marto's own live music sessions. Ferns has turned to OzCrowd, a crowdsourcing site, in a bid to raise $10,000 to pay for the clean-up. Some of the other places I visited included: Wilson rose and vegetable farm; Owen and Deb Marsh's Boundary Nurseries; Rod Taylor's Byfield store and bush cafe, famous for their beautiful burgers; John Cranny's pineapple farm; and Ian Grove's mango and lychee farm, which has suffered losses of at least $600,000.

Nob Creek Pottery is another tourist business on the trail to Byfield. Owner Steve Bishopric is busy cleaning up in a bid to reopen this coming weekend. Another icon is Cooberrie Park Wildlife Sanctuary, one of the biggest breeders of endangered cassowaries in Queensland. Owners Sue and Dave Smedley hope to reopen by Easter. They had a lot of damage, but they were very optimistic and shared some great stories of people helping out.

The army also turned up to Cooberrie to handle a very 'snappy' problem. Defence troops had to hop inside a crocodile enclosure to remove fallen trees and repair it, while keeping a sharp eye on some very cranky resident crocs. The highlight of the visit was a cuddle with a cute little koala bear. I also stopped to hand out cold drinks to road crews clearing debris from Byfield roads. Road worker Dave and his team deserve a vote of thanks. I would like to conclude by thanking everyone, both volunteer and professional, who are helping in any way in the cyclone clean-up and recovery process.