Ipswich mayor Teresa Harding says disaster committee changes hindered cyclone response

Friction continues within Ipswich City Council as mayor claims being bumped from leading the local disaster committee interrupted the sharing of vital information during ex-Tropical Cyclone Alfred.

Ipswich mayor Teresa Harding in front of floodwaters.

A southeast Queensland mayor has said she found it difficult to get information to share with the public in the lead-up to ex-Tropical Cyclone Alfred.

Ipswich Mayor Teresa Harding – one of the two mayors in Greater Brisbane who was not the head of the local disaster management committee – said she had restricted access to information for her community.

“People are hungry for information. Because I was removed, there was an extra layer,” she said.

“I actually had to raise it with the Premier and with the ministers that this was happening.

“I requested information that the community would like, and that was being withheld from me. I’m hoping common sense will prevail in the future.”

The Local Disaster Management Group handled response and recovery operations to the ex-tropical cyclone as suburbs across Ipswich were hit with floods and strong winds.

Ms Harding was ousted from the disaster role in a council meeting after she was elected to her second term last year, with councillor Andrew Antoniolli instead taking the role.

Videroni St in Bundamba on Monday, March 20, 2025. Picture: Steve Pohlner

She said the community was questioning group’s leadership of the first disaster event since the group was restructured.

“The decision of those councillors have consequences, and you can see there’s significant community backlash from people who are not happy about the situation at all,” she said.

“I wrote to the state government requesting to amend the disaster management regulations so the mayor or the mayor’s delegate would chair the local disaster management group in line with community expectations.”

While in Moreton Bay, councillor Matt Constance was the chair of its local disaster management group instead of mayor Peter Flannery.

Riverheart Parklands after being hit by the ex-tropical cyclone Alfred. Picture: supplied

Mr Antoniolli said he was confident the outcome spoke for itself as he had the best disaster management team in southeast Queensland.

“I am aware that there will be a review conducted by the Inspector-General Emergency Management, as per usual protocol, however I believe that there is likely to be an internal review as well. It is up to my peers and colleagues to assess my performance as LDMG during this event,” he said.

“Communication is a critical element of disaster management and whilst I believe that communication was satisfactory between all parties, including the community. There are always learnings from every incident and I will be making recommendations during any review.

“The role under the relevant legislation affords me the position of spokesperson for disaster events, however, considering the challenging nature of the event (it was actually three events – cyclone/storms, Bundamba Creek flash flooding and Bremer River flooding), I opted to allow the continuation of the council’s media policy, in that the mayor acted as the ongoing spokesperson.

“This allowed me to remain focused on the rapidly changing nature of TC Alfred and following fallout.”

Ipswich Deputy Mayor Nicole Jonic, Local Disaster Management Group Chair Andrew Antoniolli and Councillor Paul Tully in a social media video on an update of the floods on March 11, 2025. Picture: Paul Tully

Deputy Mayor Nicole Jonic said the performance of the local disaster management group continued to improve thanks to prior experience.

“Natural disasters are a very trying time for the residents of Ipswich, and for all services involved in assisting those impacted, ”she said.

“My recent experience is one of improvement, and I would like to commend all of those involved in assisting my community during this difficult time.”

Councillor Jacob Madsen said Mr Antoniolli did an outstanding job during the event.

“The mayor was freed up substantially to focus on communicating with our community as the spokesperson for our council under our media policy. Councils can put a councillor into the position of LDMG under the act,” he said.

“It is standard for a review to take place, and I will be providing my own feedback that inclusion of the LDMG chair in some communications alongside the mayor would improve public perception and awareness of how the LDMG functions.”