Disaster Recovery Minister Ann Leahy stripped of community recovery responsibilities

Disaster Recovery Minister Ann Leahy has been stripped of her community recovery responsibilities following a significant severe weather season that saw the state rocked by two major weather events.

Disaster Recovery Minister Ann Leahy has been stripped of her community recovery responsibilities following a significant severe weather season that saw the state rocked by cyclone Alfred and ex-tropical cyclone Dianne.

Government documents published on Friday show the words “Community Recovery” omitted from Ms Leahy’s ministerial responsibilities.

Premier David Crisafulli has handed the responsibility to Families, Seniors and Disability Services Minister Amanda Camm.

The decision was made on Tuesday.

A government spokesman on Friday said the responsibility transfer between ministers separated community and infrastructure recovery efforts.

“This machinery of government change formalises recent recovery activity, delineating social and community recovery from infrastructure recovery,” he said.

Disaster Recovery Minister Ann Leahy pictured meeting with locals and volunteers at Longreach. Picture: Office of the Premier

The Opposition criticised Ms Leahy for being absent during TC Alfred when she did not appear beside Mr Crisafulli in daily media updates.

Ms Camm, asked on Friday why she was taking over the key disaster response responsibility, said she already oversaw vulnerable cohorts in her own portfolio and it made sense for her to have visibility of whole communities after disaster events.

“The community recovery function that sits within the Department of Communities was moved over to Minister Leahy, that’s now come back to me as part of the Minister for families and Community Recovery,” she said.

Thargomindah has been inundated with flood water.

“From a human services perspective, whether it’s domestic and family violence, child safety, seniors, disabilities, all of those other areas of my portfolio, there is always vulnerable cohorts of people that exist within a community, and I can have visibility of all of that, particularly on the back of the disaster, and we can better recover.”

A government spokesman said the responsibility transfer between ministers separated community and infrastructure recovery efforts.

“This machinery of government change formalises recent recovery activity, delineating social and community recovery from infrastructure recovery,” he said.

Ms Camm said she worked “extensively” with Ms Leahy during the 2024-25 severe weather season.

“My executive team were working with her executive team,” she said.

Amanda Camm has taken up the responsibilities. Picture, John Gass

“We stood up over 26 hubs in South East Queensland, while still responding to Ingham and then on the back of the western Queensland floods, we leaned in and to support that effort.

“So on the back of that Minister Leahy and I had a discussion, and that (Community Recovery) function now sits under my portfolio.”

Ms Leahy held a press conference alongside Primary Industries Minister Tony Perrett at Charleville’s airport on Friday, while touring flood affected communities within her electorate.

They said 120 disaster impact surveys had been submitted to the department in the wake of 150,000 livestock reported killed or missing from floods.

After the conference they planned to visit Eromanga and Quilpie, before Ms Leahy then checked on communities around in Thargomindah.

She warned it could take “quite some time” for regional roads to be accessible as flooded waters still had to pass through impacted rivers.

Ms Leahy gave assurances the government would “work on every single way possible” to increase insurability of flood affected properties, including development of “survival mounds” to raise people’s homes.

Ms Camm will travel to flood-ravaged Longreach today.

Originally published as Disaster Recovery Minister Ann Leahy stripped of community recovery responsibilities