PM’s big move over Annastacia on emergency declaration

The Prime Minister is set to make a major declaration in relation to Queensland despite a refusal from Annastacia Palaszczuk.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison is set to make a major declaration in relation to Queensland despite a refusal from Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk.

Queensland will be included in the federal government’s state of emergency declaration for the flood disaster.

Ms Palaszczuk rejected the Prime Minister’s move to include her state in the declaration on Thursday morning, saying it was needed earlier.

But just hours later, Mr Morrison said he would hold a meeting with the Governor-General to include Queensland along with NSW.

“There’s been a bit of a misunderstanding about what the state of emergency declaration entails,” Mr Morrison told reporters in Queensland..

“It does not impact on the flow of funding support of defence force assistance or any of those things, that is all flowing.

“What it does is it assists the Commonwealth government in managing the regulatory issues in a more streamlined way, which particularly becomes more relevant as you move through the recovery phase.”

Queensland will be included in the federal government’s state of emergency declaration. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Dan Peled

Mr Morrison said the Queensland Premier had “every opportunity” to write to him and ask for an emergency declaration a week ago but she chose not to do that.

A spokesperson for the Queensland Premier said it was a decision for the Commonwealth.

The Prime Minister said the federal government had deployed almost 6000 ADF personnel across Queensland and NSW to assist with the flood disaster recovery - four times the the number deployed in the 2011 Brisbane floods.

A spokesperson for the Queensland Premier said it was a decision for the Commonwealth. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Dan Peled

Central Queensland was hammered with more than 200mm of rain in just two hours on Thursday.

Large swathes of the state’s southeast braced for more severe weather as looming thunderstorms threatened to dump large hail and further downpours.

The Bureau of Meteorology reported more than 115mm drenched the Capricornia and Wide Bay coasts in just over an hour late on Wednesday night.

About 216mm fell over two hours at Gladstone, while the Fraser Coast experienced a heavy downpour of 90mm at Magnolia.

The bureau issued a fresh warning on Thursday as a storm cell swept the eastern and southeastern coast of Queensland.

⛈️Thunderstorm forecast for today: severe thunderstorms are possible in eastern and southeastern #QLD, and are likely between Moranbah and Taroom, with heavy rainfall and damaging winds the primary hazards. Warnings if needed: https://t.co/FBmpsInT9opic.twitter.com/kpceBWDU1L

— Bureau of Meteorology, Queensland (@BOM_Qld) March 10, 2022

Heavy rain pounded the Brisbane, the Gold Coast, Sunshine Coast and Wide Bay regions.

⛈️⚠️Severe thunderstorm warning issued: Intense rain rates have been observed with severe storms around the #Capricornia & #WideBay coasts. Warning area includes #Gladstone & #SeventeenSeventy. 155mm recorded at Calliope in 1hr to 11pm. Latest warnings: https://t.co/CinugnxqkNpic.twitter.com/eJDZga32a9

— Bureau of Meteorology, Queensland (@BOM_Qld) March 9, 2022

The bureau has predicted a storm cell could sweep the eastern and southeastern coast of Queensland late Thursday afternoon. (AAP Image/Dan Peled)

“It’s not just rainfall in these storms, there’s also the chance of damaging wind and large hail as well,” a Bureau of Meteorology spokesperson told NCA NewsWire.

The latest forecast follows weeks of dangerous weather patterns in Queensland that have caused severe flooding.

Originally published as PM’s big move over Annastacia on emergency declaration