Tom Venning (Grey, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

We have a state election pre-poll starting this coming Saturday. I'd like to discuss the incredible candidates running in the state seats around Grey. Sam Telfer is the current member for Flinders. He's a local farmer and across both the issues and the enormous opportunities on the west coast. Under an elected Liberal government, they'll commit $5 million to the start of a Doppler radar service on the Lower Eyre Peninsula. Sunny Singh is the incredible candidate for Giles. He and his wife came here with nothing in their pockets, and now they run a successful business in Port Augusta. He's a councillor and he'll be a fantastic representative for Giles. My good friend Leon Stephens is a community man and a business owner and is whip smart. He'll be a great advocate for Port Pirie and of course the outback. Giles now represents 66 per cent of South Australia. My good friend Tania Stock in the Yorke Peninsula where I live is such a hard-working, sensible and good person. We've seen her already as a councillor on the Yorke Peninsula for some time now. She'll be a great representative for the Yorke Peninsula and parts of the mid-north. And finally Penny Pratt is the hardest working politician in Australia—now the member for Frome as it moves into Ngadjuri. We must support Penny Pratt. I certainly will be this coming Saturday in Clare.

As I said in this place last week, recent torrential rain brought devastating flooding to rural and regional South Australia, and remote communities are now suffering the consequences. I've been in contact with affected councils, and they've been crying out for help. Take Mount Remarkable council. Approximately 51 kilometres of road have been damaged across 20 different roads. They estimate the cost of repair at $2.3 million. Flinders Ranges Council said this flooding is the largest event since 2007. Much of their road network is still inaccessible for the council even to assess the damage. They estimate repair costs of $7 million to $10 million.

These communities have been pleading for support for financial assistance to get their roads back to standard. And, finally, I'm pleased to share some good news as of this morning. Following my meetings with Emily Bourke, Catherine King and Kristy McBain, as well as strong engagement from the impacted councils, the South Australian and Commonwealth governments have activated disaster recovery funding arrangements for recent flooding events. That is for the APY Lands and the local government areas of Barmera, Berri, Ceduna, Cleve, Coober Pedy, Flinders Ranges, Orroroo, Carrieton, Peterborough and Port Augusta. It was disappointing to see Mount Remarkable council not included in that area; I'll do my best to have that included.

Thank you to everyone who reached out with their stories, photos and their images of road damage. It all helped build the case. We still have challenges ahead, including liquidity of some of these small councils, but this is a good start. I'll keep fighting for the small regional councils.