Major-General Jake Ellwood named Qld’s flood recovery co-ordinator

A soldier who helped co-ordinate the response to the Black Summer bushfires has been named as Queensland’s flood recovery co-ordinator in the wake of last week’s natural disaster. It comes as the state government left the door open for property buybacks.

Major-General Jake Ellwood has been appointed as the state’s new recovery co-ordinator following last week’s devastating floods.

It comes as the state government left the door open to property buybacks, however Deputy Premier Steven Miles said they were expensive and could displace residents, so other options would be considered.

Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk said Major-General Ellwood would co-ordinate one of the largest-scale recovery operations Queensland had ever seen, noting the flood event impacted 22 local government areas and eight cities.

Major-General Ellwood said while it was a tough time for Queenslanders, it was uplifting to see people helping each other.

Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk talks to flood recovery co-ordinator Major-General Jake Ellwood. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Dan Peled

“For me now … what I want to do is get out on the ground and to talk to people, to understand the issues, to understand the environment so that we can make sure we are prioritising things correctly,” he said.

“There are going to be hurdles, there will be obstacles but together we will overcome it.”

Major-General Ellwood has served as Deputy Chief of Army and was national co-ordinator for the Australian Defence Force’s response to the Black Summer bushfires in 2019-20.

Meanwhile, asked whether the government was considering buying properties impacted by the floods, Mr Miles said authorities were undertaking the disaster assessment now and that it would take time to determine the most appropriate resilience projects.

“In the past we have seen small buybacks where there haven’t been alternative options available but they are expensive and they obviously displace people and so we will consider all of the appropriate options including allowing for building alterations, localised levees, other stormwater protections, so there’s a range of options that may be most appropriate in each individual circumstance and we’ll consider those based on their experience and on the damage assessment,” he said.