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House of Assembly - Fifty-Second Parliament, First Session (52-1)
2011-02-08 Daily Xml
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STORM AND FLOOD ASSISTANCE

Ms FOX (Bright) (14:43): Can the Premier advise the house what assistance has been provided to communities in South Australia—

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order!

Ms FOX: —Queensland and Victoria following recent devastating storms and floods?

The Hon. M.D. RANN (Ramsay—Premier, Minister for Economic Development, Minister for Social Inclusion, Minister for the Arts, Minister for Sustainability and Climate Change) (14:44): I want to thank the member for Bright for her question. First, on behalf of all South Australians, I send our sincere condolences to all those who have lost loved ones as a result of devastating storms and floods experienced in parts of eastern Australia.

The extent of property and infrastructure damage is almost unimaginable. I am pleased to inform the house of the assistance provided by South Australia following the storm and subsequent flooding in South Australia in December 2010, as well as the recent devastating flooding in Queensland and Victoria.

I was briefed and toured Stockport with the member for Frome, the local mayor, Allan Aughey, the Department for Families and Communities Chief Executive, Jos Mazel, to view first-hand the damage caused by heavy rain and flooding in December. I was shocked by the incredible mess left behind by the worst December rains on record but equally heartened to see the communities and volunteers working together on the clean-up. Once again we pay tribute to our volunteers.

The Minister for Families and Communities took charge of flood recovery to oversee a wide range of recovery efforts across agencies, including ongoing work by Emergency Services volunteers, community assistance and infrastructure repairs. I want to commend the Minister for Families and Communities for her repeated visits to the area.

The state government approved an advance payment of $250,000 from the local government's disaster fund for the Clare and Gilbert Valleys Council to assist with repairing roads and infrastructure and donated $25,000 to the mayor's flood relief fund. Through the Local Government Disaster Fund the state government also approved the allocation of up to $150,000 for the undertaking of a detailed assessment of the damage to the Clare and Gilbert Valleys Council road infrastructure and to assist the council to prioritise infrastructure replacement.

Payments totalling more than $66,000 were made to individuals impacted by the flooding. The total was made up of a range of payments, including emergency grants as well as re-establishment grants of up to $5,600 for contents and up to $5,600 for household repairs for eligible people in need. Further assistance of $100,000 for recovery has been approved by the state and federal governments.

The issue of federal disaster relief and disaster resilience is on the agenda for next week's COAG meeting in Canberra. I have already flagged with the commonwealth, through our senior officers, that this state's intention is to seek a review of the criteria for disaster relief so that it better meets the needs of smaller states and smaller communities. The flooding through Stockport left considerable damage to both council and state-owned infrastructure, but under current disaster relief arrangements, it does not meet the threshold for federal assistance.

The state government also responded quickly to the devastating flooding that has hit Queensland and Victoria. Twenty-five South Australian police officers have gone to Queensland to form part of an anti-looting squad. The Metropolitan Fire Service sent 12 urban search and rescue technicians to Queensland prepared to assist in the location of people who may have become trapped as a result of the floods. The SA Ambulance Service has provided paramedics to Queensland, and as a small example of the wonderful level of commitment we have seen I understand that those on day shift help with the community clean up on their day off.

The SA State Emergency Service deployed a total of 60 volunteers and three staff members to Queensland. The first two groups from the SES were part of the early response into the towns, which were amongst the worst, including Toowoomba and the Lockyer Valley, before returning home to be replaced by a third deployment which assisted with the enormous clean-up and recovery effort.

In addition to these volunteers, the SES also deployed volunteers and staff to assist flood affected communities in Victoria. In addition to these deployments, 18 South Australians from state government agencies flew to Queensland to provide assistance to victims in the aftermath of the floods. Their duties included staffing recovery centres and visiting people impacted by the flooding to offer information and support. The SES are now prepared to send four rotations of 30 SES personnel to North Queensland as part of the national response to the cyclone where they will assist with the clean-up effort. The state government also donated $1 million for the Queensland Premier's Flood Appeal.

Can I just say that I went down to the airport to meet with SES personnel who were leaving to go on the first wave of assistance for the Queensland floods. I met people who had worked down in Penola, and they had worked to assist in the aftermath of the tornado there. I met SES volunteers from Port Lincoln who were going to Queensland, like raring to get on the plane, because they said that when there were the devastating fires that took nine lives on the Eyre Peninsula just a few years ago—in fact, it was the exact anniversary—they got assistance from the Queensland SES and wanted to return the favour. That is the mark of Australians, that is why volunteering and volunteers are the best example of citizenship.

On 6 January I chaired a meeting of the state's Emergency Management Council to discuss potential flooding in the River Murray as a result of floodwaters from New South Wales crossing the border into South Australia. I chaired a further meeting of the Emergency Management Council on 24 January, and invited the six mayors of local councils along the river to attend.

Experts advised us that no populated towns were at risk, but shacks and campsites in low lying areas were still under threat. Flow to South Australia over the next week is expected to be within the range of 75,000 megalitres per day to a maximum of 85,000 megalitres per day as the higher flow arrives across the South Australian border. This compares to 350,000 megalitres a day during the peak of the 1956 flood and 180,000 megalitres during the peak of the 1974 flood.

Nevertheless, the state government has been working closely with the SES to approach the issue of protecting people and property. To date, the SES has been encouraging people to be aware of their personal safety if they are holidaying along the river this summer, with the campaign 'Enjoy the river this summer, but stay safe.' The SES is continuing to consult with all stakeholders to ensure a coordinated and considered approach to this issue. A regional control centre has been established at Berri and a state control centre, which can be activated on a needs basis, has also been established. A state-level incident action plan has also been prepared.

The SES, together with SAPOL and other agencies, is currently monitoring the situation in the north-west pastoral areas of our state, where widespread inundation has occurred as a result of the tail end of the tropical cyclone that devastated parts of northern Queensland. Inundation has also occurred in the north-east pastoral areas and the northern Barossa as a result of the rain experienced over the weekend. Property damage and stock losses have occurred as a result of these two separate weather systems.

Our emergency services also continue to monitor situations in Queensland (including the aftermath left by the tropical cyclone), flooding in Victoria, and bushfires in Western Australia, and stand ready to again provide assistance if called upon to do so. The last few months have seen our volunteers and staff work tirelessly to provide an invaluable service to the affected communities of South Australia, Queensland and Victoria, and South Australians can be proud of their contributions. I take this opportunity to thank and congratulate all those involved in the relief effort to date.

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