Flood and storm ravaged communities failed by government in their hour of need

The response to catastrophic disasters across the Gold Coast and Scenic Rim was slow, inadequate and reeks of politics writes Charlton Hart.

Journalist Charlton Hart reporting on the devastation in Guanaba. Picture Glenn Hampson

At the ripe young age of 27, I’ve covered too many natural disasters for my liking and, sadly, in the era of climate change I fear I will cover many more.

I sheltered with families in their homes in the midst of the 2019 black summer bushfires and watched people’s livestock and livelihoods go up in flames. The stories I shared while working as a reporter at the time still haunt me today.

In 2021, when I thought things couldn’t get worse, a tornado tore through the regional NSW town of Armidale where I was still working as a TV reporter.

I had never seen such damage and destruction unleashed by Mother Nature. It ruined people’s lives.

Reporter Charlton Hart in the field along Kriedeman Rd, Guanaba after storms and floods tore through the area. Picture Glenn Hampson

When I moved back morth to the Gold Coast in 2022, I had just left 12 months of reporting on widespread flooding across regional towns sparked by dreaded La Nina’.

Little did I know, I would be stepping into another year of disaster.

A ‘rain bomb’ as Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk called it at the time, hit South East Queensland just two weeks into my new reporting job.

It caused flooding from Caboolture to Coolangatta over the New South Wales border to the Tweed and west to Lismore.

Again, I spent days in the field among the devastation, sharing stories from more heartbroken communities.

I have had the privilege of seeing governments respond to disasters.

It means I can confidently say the state and federal government response to the catastrophic storms across the Gold Coast and Scenic Rim was not good enough.

It was slow, inadequate and reeks of politics.

You only have to look at the response to Cyclone Jasper in the Labor heartland of north Queensland, 10 days prior to the storms further south.

Less than 24 hours after the Far North was battered by the cyclone, the State and Federal Government announced hardship disaster grants of $180 for individuals and $900 for families across all affected local government areas.

The Gold Coast and Scenic Rim, predominantly held by Liberal National Party MPs, however, waited three days for the same payments.

Australian Defence Force (ADF) personnel were deployed to help with the clean up four days after the disaster in the Far North.

ADF personnel were not deployed to help across SEQ until 11 days into the clean-up effort. The Australian Government Disaster Recovery Payment of $1000 for adults and $400 for children were made available to victims of Jasper within seven days.

Residents across the Gold Coast and Scenic Rim had to wait more than two weeks before the same funding was available to them. Some suburbs have still been left off the eligibility list.

When residents across the Far North were left searching for essential supplies like food and clothing in the aftermath of the disaster, emergency funding was provided to community organisations for food hampers and support.

This funding wasn’t forthcoming to victims across the Gold Coast or Scenic Rim, despite supermarket closures and shelves stripped bare of torches, batteries and other necessities.

The additional funding from Prime Minister Anthony Albanese was undercooked writes Charlton Hart. Picture: Glenn Hampson

On Tuesday Anthony Albanese announced further grants to support affected communities across the Gold Coast and Scenic Rim. Sadly, again it was undercooked.

The same grants were backed with $64 million in funding for victims of Cyclone Jasper.

However, the federal government has refused to say how much has been allocated for victims across the South East.

The government would say that it’s because I don’t understand the differences between the impacts of Jasper and the storms.

I’ll let you decide.

When Cyclone Jasper hit, homes were destroyed, thousands were left without power and communities were devastated.

When the storms hit South East Queensland, homes were destroyed, thousands were left without power and communities were devastated.

The damage bill for both will run into the billions of dollars.

The key difference between Jasper and the storms, one was treated as an emergency, the other was definitely not.

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