Malarndirri McCarthy (NT, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Indigenous Australians) Share this | Hansard source

Thank you, Senator Cox. I know you understand Western Australia very well, and I'm looking forward to being with you on the weekend over there in WA as well.

It's certainly been an incredibly difficult wet season, and we can certainly see where Tropical Cyclone Narelle is now in Western Australia. Across northern Australia we've seen its pathway. We've faced successive natural disasters—cyclones, flooding and now renewed river rises—following on from Cyclone Narelle. Our focus is on keeping people safe and making sure no-one is left behind.

More than 1,000 people have been evacuated from remote communities in the Northern Territory, like Numbulwar, Nauiyu, Daly River, Jilkminggan and Palumpa—many for the second time in just a matter of weeks. Jilkminggan, near Mataranka, and Beswick, near Katherine, have also gone under, and also Katherine.

I want to acknowledge, too, the communities in Far North Queensland, from Coen to Aurukun, who've been impacted, and those in Western Australia who are now preparing for the re-intensified Cyclone Narelle. This has been an incredibly distressing experience for these communities—to be forced from your home and to not know what you will return to—and that takes a real toll on people's lives.

I also want to recognise the extraordinary efforts of the Australian Defence Force. ADF personnel have been on the ground and in the air evacuating communities and helping move people to safety. Alongside them are volunteers, emergency services and local workers who have shown incredible care and commitment. In Katherine, we've stood up a 24/7 AUSMAT field hospital to ensure people have access to emergency and essential health care, and that includes a fully operational emergency department and maternity services making sure care continues. At the same time, we're supporting communities not just through the immediate response but through resilience.