Peter Dutton (Dickson, Liberal Party, Minister for Home Affairs) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Like the Prime Minister, Minister Littleproud and others, I say our thoughts are with those in affected areas at the moment, particularly in New South Wales but in Queensland as well. Many of us in Queensland have very vivid memories of the dramatic floods a decade ago now. Many Queenslanders and Australians will recall the way in which the Australian Defence Force stepped up in the clean-up to provide support to those families, those businesses and those communities who were devastated by the floodwaters and the aftermath, and the Australian Defence Force is ready to do the same again now.

We have worked very closely—as the Prime Minister has pointed out, he has spoken repeatedly with the New South Wales Premier—and will continue to work very closely with our state counterparts. The Australian Defence Force has performed an exceptional role for our country over the course of the last 12 months, in particular the beginning of last year where the Australian Defence Force stepped up to provide support to bushfire affected communities. They have done the same in relation to COVID. This very day there are 1,000 ADF personnel who are involved in Operation COVID-19 Assist. Those people join 15,000 of their colleagues who, over the period of the pandemic, have been able to provide support at various hotels, at roadblocks and in many parts of Indigenous Australia, to provide support to protect those communities. The Chief of the Defence Force will work very closely with his counterparts in the law enforcement area, in New South Wales and Queensland in particular, to make sure we can provide whatever support is requested. The Australian Defence Force brings with it a level of expertise renowned around the world and a spirit that helps rebuild communities. That is something of which we should be very proud.

These communities have very difficult days ahead. As has been pointed out in this chamber before, we have seen the vision of cars being swept away. There is no piece of property that is worth rescuing at the moment or going into floodwaters to attempt to rescue, as much as you might want to. As much as you might think you can cross that flooded crossing, you cannot. Our plea to people in those flooded communities is to please look at the reality of the situation, to step back and to deal with what is an incredibly difficult situation. Listen to the authorities on the ground. I pay tribute to the emergency service workers. They serve our community 24/7, but in these very dark hours they provide significant support to communities. The Australian Defence Force stands ready to provide assistance whenever it is requested by the state premiers, and we'll make sure that that is the case.