Prime Minister announces $8 million community relief fund as he inspects temporary bridge installed at Ollera Creek
Standing on the Bruce Highway that was ripped apart by raging floodwaters, the Prime Minister has vowed to “build back better” and floodproof North Queensland’s crucial link.
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Standing on the Bruce Highway that was ripped apart by raging floodwaters, the Prime Minister has vowed to “build back better” and floodproof North Queensland’s crucial link.
Watching as Townsville’s 3rd Combat Engineer Regiment built a specialised bridge to transport emergency supplies and generators to hard-hit Ingham, Anthony Albanese pledged to future-proof Ollera Creek’s washed-out bridge.
“We can’t continue to have the view that you just do the same thing because you’ll get the same results, and we are committed to building back better and making sure that this bridge, we get a better one,” Mr Albanese said.
“One that is higher, one that is longer, one that’s sustainable and one that isn’t knocked out the next time there is an event like this.”
Mr Albanese also announced an $8 million co-funded community relief fund which will provide support for North Queensland communities affected by the floods.
The fund will provide up to $1 million for eight local government associations to assist them in recovery and clean up efforts.
Mr Albanese also said the Australian Government disaster recovery payment was activated on Thursday afternoon, providing $1000 for eligible adults and $400 for children from Cardwell, Giru and the local government area of Hinchinbrook.
Speaking on the resilience of the Queensland spirit, Mr Albanese said “at the worst of times what we see is the best of the Australian character”.
“Whether they be emergency services personnel, whether it be our police or fire services, the volunteers through the SES and of course our Australian Defence Force personnel, particularly based in the barracks here in Townsville,” he said.
“What we are seeing here, through three levels of government and the community, is working together to get through what is a really tough time.”
Queensland Premier David Crisafulli said North Queensland communities continue to be in their “hour of need”, with more rainfall forecast.
“There is a new wave of monsoonal rains in the upcoming few days, the Bureau (of Meteorology) has reported,” Mr Crisafulli said.
“We must remain alert, particularly in the area between Ingham and Bowen.”
The Premier highlighted the risk of heavy localised rain in conditions where everything is still waterlogged.
“There is a real risk of flooding and we’re asking people to stay in communication, keep your wits about you and ultimately everything remains about safety at this point in this disaster,” Mr Crisafulli said.
In preparation for the oncoming rain, Mr Crisafulli said the state government was pre-deploying resources such as SES and Ergon Energy crews over the next few days and setting up disaster hubs.
Mr Crisafulli said the government was also ensuring smaller communities such as Paluma were getting the resources they need, as efforts were being made to reconnect them after damage to road infrastructure.
“(Community) hubs will be out in those communities to make sure that they can get access to the support that the prime minister just outlined,” he said.
Mr Crisafulli wanted to reassure North Queensland they were doing everything they could regarding getting telecommunications back online, reopening schools and supplying groceries.
“‘I can’t underestimate how big a task this is going to be but we’re here for you and we know that you are strong enough to get through, but resilience doesn’t mean you get left on your own and we’re here to see the job through,” he said.
“Whether or not you’ve got mud on the wall or you’re without power or you’ve lost everything, or in the case of those two families who have lost loved ones, we are here for the long haul and we must see this through.
“I want this proud region to know that we got your back and we will get you back on your feet.”
Mr Crisafulli said part of the long-term plan was to find and implement a better solution and “do it once and do it right”.
“We cannot continue to do the same thing over and over,” he said.
Hinchinbrook Mayor Ramon Jayo said it had been very difficult to get supplies into the town due to the road damage and wet weather limiting helicopter access.
“This road is going to just enhance our capacity to get supplies in and get them out to our community,” he said.
On hearing the stories of people affected in Ingham, Mr Albanese said he will “make sure they get every support that they need”.
The Prime Minister and the Premier spoke with local Carmel Patti, who was one of dozens of Ingham residents who had been brought over on Queensland Rail’s bus as she needed to catch a flight from Townsville on Saturday.
The rail bus was going back and forth over the rail bridge, moving those who were unable to get through due to the broken bridge.
Living on Pappins Road at Frances Creek, Ms Patti said in the 35 years she’s lived in her house, this was the highest she had ever seen the water come up.
Having been without power since 9pm on Friday, Ms Patti said the amount of water was “unbelievable”.
“Me having a low house, you get terrified because where are you going to go..,” she said.
“The only way I could get messages out was when you could use the generator for a short period of time, through WhatsApp messenger.”
Living up higher on a hill, Ms Patti said her house was 500m away from the creek.
“[The water] has never been this close to the house,” she said.
“It’s just an unusual event.”
Lieutenant Colonel Ryan Mitchell, Commanding Officer of 3CER said it was a “unique operation to install the temporary bridge and was a chance for them to put their emergency training into very important use”.
“Given the problem is an embankment that’s washed out, it’s a unique problem,” he said.
“Typically a span in the bridge has collapsed or there’s no bridge, so we’re now going from an existing bridge to what is now eroded soil.”
Colonel Mitchell said it was a “complex” situation and they had been working with TMR and the district disaster co-ordination centre.
With a number of different bridges in their inventory, Colonel Mitchell said it was important to assess what would be right for the situation.
“The bridge that we have gone with is quite staff-power intensive,” he said.
“They’re lifting each individual panel, they are between 200 and 400 kilos each. So they’ve built it by hand and they are using the vehicle to push it out across into the gap.”
He said the bridge would only be usable during the day and only for emergency relief efforts.
“The key to us is enabling that emergency relief up to Ingham and then coming up with a system with TMR that we can recover the bridge, allow them to get in, do the long term remediation but then return it for each day so we’ve got it only operating for that emergency relief during daylight hours,” Colonel Mitchell said.
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