Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk noncommittal on idea of third Mary River bridge at Gympie

Gympie became the heart of state politics as the two major party leaders paid a visit to the flood ravaged region amid calls for support to devastated business to begin flowing urgently.

Floodwaters have receded but Gympie has now been swamped by politicians with Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk and opposition leader David Crisafulli visiting the flood ravaged region.

Ms Palaszczuk took a whirlwind tour of Mary St, which was buried under more than 4m of water for almost three days, as calls continue for support in the wake of the disaster.

Ahead of the her main street tour, Ms Palaszczuk spoke at a press conference held at the Energex Building on Corella Rd, about 3km away from the CBD.

She was noncommittal on whether a long-called for third bridge across the Mary River would be on the cards following this latest flood, the second highest in history at 22.96m.

“We always look at every flood event, and we look at if there needs to be upgrades to … bridges,” Ms Palaszczuk said.

“Even driving up here today we could see the work happening on the Bruce Highway, which is trying to flood parts (of it).

“Of course that takes times.”

She pointed to bridges rebuilt at Logan after ex-tropical cyclone Debbie tore through across Queensland in 2017.

“They were able to withstand this flood, which was higher,” she said.

“We will look at all of that, we will talk to the council, and all of that will be put into the reports which go to government.”

She said the possibility of using the new Wellcamp facility to temporarily house those left homeless by the flood was an option on the table.

Following the presser, Ms Palaszczuk, Energy Minister Mick de Brenni, and Gympie mayor Glen Hartwig made a visit to lower Mary St, meeting with some of the rescue teams clearing debris from the road and buildings.

They then worked their way across the mud-encrusted Memorial Park to Nelson Reserve.

Mr Crisafulli, who spoke outside Memorial Park before the Premier’s arrival, said there was not only a significant financial cost but also, a social cost.

He welcomed Deputy Premier Steven Miles’ announcement early Wednesday morning of a business support package which “(the LNP) will back boots and all”.

However “it can’t be the case, as with Covid, where it took too long to mobilise”.

“The feedback we’ve got from farmers … they see different amounts of packages that have been rolled out in different events,” he said.

“What I want to see is a support package that is swift and is adequate.

“If it’s not, the Government will rue that.

“Right now is the opportunity for all levels of Government to put politics aside and just find the best way to mobilise and keep the wolf at the door for small businesses and their staff.”