Murray Watt (Queensland, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry) Share this | Hansard source

Thanks, Senator Ciccone; I know you speak for many people on both sides of this chamber with your level of concern about these floods. As senators will be aware, Australia is now seeing the impact of a third consecutive La Nina event, with flooding impacting many communities across the country. Over the last few weeks we've seen flooding across Victoria, New South Wales, Queensland, Tasmania and now South Australia, and the sad reality is that this dangerous weather is far from over.

Of immediate concern is the heavy rainfall that has impacted north-east New South Wales in the past 24 hours, with the front now moving down the coast towards eastern Victoria. There are multiple emergency warnings current across both Victoria and New South Wales right now, and my message to people in those states is: please listen to the authorities and heed their warnings and advice. We've already, tragically, seen six fatalities as a result of these recent floods, and we don't want to see more.

Last week the Prime Minister and I visited the communities of Bendigo, Deloraine, Latrobe, Launceston and Forbes, where we met with a range of first responders and impacted farmers and communities. I also visited Seymour in central Victoria with Victorian minister Jaclyn Symes and the local federal MP, Sam Birrell, and held an online community forum with leaders from across Shepparton to hear from these communities directly. I've also been in regular contact with many other affected MPs from across all sides of the political divide.

While these floods have been devastating for many, there has been some positive news along the way. During our time in Tasmania, the Prime Minister and I visited Michael Perkins's dairy farm along with Senator Urquhart. During the 2016 floods the Perkins family lost 48 heifers from their Latrobe dairy farm. I was heartened to hear that, through improvements to warning systems, Michael was able to prepare earlier, ultimately keeping all of his animals safe. And that was something I heard throughout Tasmania.

We're thinking of all the communities impacted by these events. We know this repeated, relentless flooding is tough, and we'll be there to support people now and as they recover.