Dana Wortley (SA, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Minister for Human Services, Senator Ludwig. Can the minister please update the Senate on the flooding which occurred in Central Queensland earlier this year and in particular on the payment of Australian government disaster recovery payments being administered by Centrelink to people in declared areas surrounding Emerald, Charleville and Mackay in Central Queensland?

Joe Ludwig (Queensland, Australian Labor Party, Manager of Government Business in the Senate) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

In the lead-up to Easter it is important to remember those Australians who are doing it tough. In my home state of Queensland, January and February 2008 will be remembered for rain. Welcome as it was after such an extensive drought, it fell too fast and in great quantities. This resulted in serious flooding across Central Queensland and thousands of Queenslanders had their homes affected and their possessions—and in some cases decades of personal effects such as photos, letters and mementos—damaged and/or destroyed.

The Rudd Labor government unfortunately cannot replace those things, but we did act decisively to extend a helping hand to those Australians doing it tough. Mr President and senators in the chamber will recall that storms and associated flooding commenced in the Mackay and Whitsunday regions of Queensland on or about 13 January 2008. This soon spread to other areas as well. I had the opportunity of seeing with my own eyes the levels of damage and destruction caused by the rising waters.

The government, led by Mr Kevin Rudd, responded quickly and decisively, announcing that the Australian Government Disaster Recovery Payment would be made available to people affected by the Queensland flooding. The AGDRP, or the Australian Government Disaster Recovery Payment, provides $1,000 per adult and $400 per child to eligible people who have as a result of storms or associated flooding been seriously injured and hospitalised for at least 48 hours or whose principal home was destroyed and/or damaged in the flood. So far Centrelink has paid more than $800,000 to over 900 claimants in need.

The flooding, of course, did not stop in January. It occurred in the Mackay region, and the disaster recovery payment was made available to people in the Mackay region affected by flooding from 14 February 2008. So far Centrelink has paid out more than $7 million to more than 6,000 people. I visited the area on 16 February, and it was obvious how much damage had been done. I visited the suburb of Glenella, which was hit badly by the floods. I had the opportunity of talking to local residents, who told me that the floodwaters had come up very quickly and suddenly during the night, with about 600 millimetres of rain an hour falling.

It is important for me to recognise the tireless efforts of the member for Dawson, Mr James Bidgood. He worked extremely hard to ensure that the effects of the flooding on local communities were understood in Canberra. And that is true: his own office was inundated with water. I understand eyebrows may be raised at the mention of the drought bus in answer to a question from Senator Wortley in respect of this, but anyone who knows about the volatile weather in Central Queensland will agree that it is fitting. The drought bus is in fact a mobile communications centre which has specialist staff on board. This made it an ideal resource to be deployed during an emergency such as the Queensland floods.

The drought bus made a number of trips around the flooded areas, including visits to Charleville, Emerald, the gemfields, Mackay and surrounding districts. The staff of the drought bus were able to coordinate and conduct doorknocking throughout the communities they visited to ensure that information about assistance was spread through the community. Centrelink, of course, is responsible for the delivery of the Australian Government Disaster Recovery Payment, along with playing a significant role in the recovery and relief efforts in all the communities. (Time expired)