‘This is serious’: Anthony Albanese slaps down Wayne Swan over Cyclone Alfred

Anthony Albanese has slapped down a claim by his own party’s president as Cyclone Alfred continues to dominate the horizon.

Anthony Albanese has slapped down a claim by Labor Party President Wayne Swan that Cyclone Alfred “may no longer be an immediate threat to Brisbane”, insisting people must prepare for the worst.

Mr Swan, the former federal treasurer, was speaking live on national television on Friday when he suggested that “maybe the immediate threat to Brisbane is no longer there”.

Tropical cyclones are erratic weather systems and as Alfred slows down, the coastline could be battered by dangerous weather for longer, increasing the risk of flooding.

MORE:Aus insurers’ sick move as cyclone nears

The Bureau of Meteorology’s latest tracking map shows Alfred is forecast to reach Moreton Island, off Brisbane’s bayside, at about 6am or 7am Brisbane time on Saturday.

It is then expected to lash northern NSW and southeast Queensland, with heavy rain and wind today and early on Saturday.

“Well, we’re all dressed up and nowhere to go because this has been coming for a couple of days,” Mr Swan said of the cyclone.

“So like many others, Brisbane Heights, we’ve done the sandbags, we’ve locked everything down. Queenslanders are pretty resilient and particularly in the southeast, this will be almost the third year in a row where we’ve had a substantial threat. So I think we’re well prepared,” he added.

“I note that it’s changed course and is heading north now, so maybe the immediate threat to Brisbane is no longer there.”

Former treasurer Wayne Swan. Picture: Tertius Pickard/NewsWire

MORE:How Cyclone Alfred will catch out cheating Aussies

After host Sarah Abo suggested that she hoped complacency wasn’t creeping in, Mr Swan said that wasn’t the case.

“No. I don’t think there’s any. Preparing for the worst here,” he stressed.

Mr Swan also took a swing at Peter Dutton for showing “very poor judgment in flying straight to Sydney from that emergency briefing” for a fundraiser.

“Secondly, in terms of the Prime Minister calling the election, I’m sure he’ll do the right thing. As you know, we’ve got to have one in the next couple of months. So it’s not an option not to have one. So we’ll see how he goes,” he said.

“I think we’ve got to see what happens with the cyclone. As you’ve seen this morning, it’s turned north now. So it could be a matter of days before we know how it goes. It could strengthen. Although the forecasts this morning are suggesting that it’s weakening. So we’ve just got to see what the weather does. We’re in the hands of a very unpredictable bunch of circumstances here.”

Speaking in Canberra, Mr Albanese stressed that the cyclone slowing down was not a sign it was improving, and added that it could make the weather event more dangerous.

Mr Albanese at a briefing in Canberra. Picture: Martin Ollman/NewsWire

“Look, this is a serious event. What we need to do is hope for the best but prepare for the worst. We absolutely need to prepare for the worst,” Mr Albanese said.

“This is already having an impact. And the impact with the slowing of the cyclone Alfred in its journey westward to the coast, we should not think that slower means better.

“It’s not clear that it could intensify as well as it is over warmer waters, it has the potential to increase the intensity of it.

“So, I – we are, as a government, I know that state governments as well, and local government and people – need to hope for the best but prepare for the worst. That is what we need to do.”