Trevor Evans (Brisbane, Liberal Party, Assistant Minister for Waste Reduction and Environmental Management) | Link to this | Hansard source

ANS (—) (): Unlike in 2011, the recent floods in Brisbane weren't just a Brisbane River focused event. The heavy rain bomb that hung over Brisbane caused all the local catchments to flood—Kedron Brook, Enoggera Creek, Brekkie Creek, Ithaca Creek—meaning that virtually every suburb had flooded streets, homes and businesses. I spent two weeks going door to door in some of the worst hit streets to listen to and to help local families and business owners. For families, financial assistant grants from the federal government and, for businesses and community clubs, co-funded federal-state grants have been going out the door, helping us to clean up and rebuild. Charities and local community groups have made a big difference, too. The people of Brisbane wasted no time in getting stuck into the clean-up, with thousands of volunteers, neighbours and friends all pitching in to help. It was great to see the ADF on the streets in places like Milton, Ashgrove, Windsor and the CBD, assisting locals and the Brisbane City Council with the clean-up. In my judgement, having a big, well-resourced council working closely with the ADF made a big difference. I want to collectively thank everyone who helped out for what they did for our beautiful community. I am immensely proud of the resilience and the spirit demonstrated by the people of Brisbane not just during the floods but in the course of the COVID pandemic as well.

The challenges of COVID aren't over, but even now we are seeing more evidence emerge that Australia has performed better than virtually any other country on both the health metrics, like lower rates of death and disease, and the economic measures, like the impacts on jobs, prosperity and the budget bottom line. The budget this week shows that the government got some big calls right, like closing the international borders early—meaning we didn't see those makeshift morgues popping up like they were in places like New York—and by crafting programs like JobKeeper. The budget shows that JobKeeper was unprecedented, expensive and temporary and that it worked. It kept countless good businesses afloat and it kept 700,000 Australians off the dole queues and away from the risks of long-term unemployment. In Brisbane alone, more than 11,000 businesses and almost 30,000 people were supported by JobKeeper. Now, in a sharp recovery, Australia has its lowest unemployment in close to 50 years. All those people in jobs, being productive, paying income taxes and not drawing on government support, has seen the biggest turnaround in 70 years for any federal budget bottom line.

The challenges aren't over, but our plan is clear. I will continue to work hard every single day for the people of Brisbane, as we work towards an even better Brisbane in 2032 and beyond, and for a stronger, safer, more prosperous Australia.