Queensland Cyclone Recovery Assistance

The Hon. Z.L. BETTISON (Ramsay—Minister for Communities and Social Inclusion, Minister for Social Housing, Minister for the Status of Women, Minister for Ageing, Minister for Multicultural Affairs, Minister for Youth, Minister for Volunteers) (14:15): I seek leave to make a ministerial statement.

Leave granted.

The Hon. Z.L. BETTISON: Following the destruction and damage of Tropical Cyclone Debbie on 28 March this year, the Queensland government made a request for my department to provide assistance with the ongoing community recovery efforts in the aftermath of the cyclone. Accordingly, commencing from Saturday 8 April, a Department for Communities and Social Inclusion employee with experience in emergency relief and recovery has been deployed to Queensland to act as the national deployment coordinator.

An additional 17 South Australian government recovery workers, including 15 from Housing SA and DCSI and two from the Department of Environment, Water and Natural Resources, have also been briefed and deployed for two weeks to Cannonvale, Queensland, from Sunday 9 April. Depending on the scale and speed of Queensland's recovery efforts, it is possible that further contingents may follow in the coming weeks.

In addition to giving respite to Queensland's workers, the deployment will be of some benefit to South Australia in the longer term by providing enhanced institutional knowledge and capabilities in the management of a very large-scale disaster. It is wonderful to see many people volunteer to assist others in their time of need, and it serves to remind us of the strong and resilient spirit of our community when faced with the enormous tasks of recovering from a disaster such as Cyclone Debbie.