Christopher Back (WA, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

My question is to the Minister representing the Attorney-General, Senator Ludwig. The minister would be aware of the floods that devastated the Western Australian communities in the Gascoyne region of WA, including Carnarvon, in late December 2010 and early January this year. Can the minister explain why after seven weeks no payments have been made under the natural disaster recovery scheme to any affected residents? Those payments—a minimum of $1,000 for each adult, regardless of income, with $400 per child—would allow those people to start rebuilding their lives. Will the minister guarantee that this government’s failure to release these funds to affected Western Australian families will be addressed immediately?