❓ Mr. Love questions the Premier about the slow recovery from Cyclone Seroja, citing families without roofs and a delayed workers' accommodation complex. The Premier defends the government's efforts, highlighting the significant investment and challenges faced.
AnsweredQoN 137Legislative Assembly
QuestionView source ↗
CYCLONE SEROJA — RECOVERY
137. Mr R.S. LOVE to the Premier:
I refer to the lagging recovery from
tropical cyclone Seroja after two years of failure under this McGowan Labor
government. Is it acceptable that after two years, midwest families still have
homes without roofs and that the site of a promised workers'
accommodation complex in Kalbarri remains a scrubby vacant lot?
137. Mr R.S. LOVE to the Premier:
I refer to the lagging recovery from
tropical cyclone Seroja after two years of failure under this McGowan Labor
government. Is it acceptable that after two years, midwest families still have
homes without roofs and that the site of a promised workers'
accommodation complex in Kalbarri remains a scrubby vacant lot?
AnswerView source ↗
Cyclone Seroja was a devastating
event. I cannot remember the exact date of the cyclone, but it was more than a year
ago. It was a difficult event for the community of Kalbarri. Obviously, a lot
of damage was done. I visited the community; I saw it all in person. A lot of
damage was done that was debilitating for many households and businesses. Much
public infrastructure was damaged as well. In the period since then, an
enormous recovery effort has been put in place by all government agencies, with
lots of volunteers and by the coordination of the private sector. Both
Ministers for Emergency Services—the member for Baldivis and current
Minister Dawson—put enormous efforts into the Seroja recovery and the
recovery efforts in the Kimberley more recently.
It is difficult to just build a new
house overnight. It takes time to do these things. From memory, the government spent around $50 million on the recovery effort in
Kalbarri. I have seen some reports that we spent $4 million. They are
wrong. About $50 million of infrastructure, grants and so forth have been
rolled out to support the community of Kalbarri in the recovery effort. It does
take time. I urge people to be understanding about it. I urge members not to
politicise it. A lot of people have worked on this, and they have done a terrific
job in a very difficult situation. Also, with so much construction and building
activity underway with existing contracts, it is difficult to do all the work
that is required because so much work is going on. That is the reality we face
in Western Australia. We are doing our best. Our population is growing. We have
the strongest population growth in Australia. We are doing everything we can to secure workers from
interstate and overseas. We are supporting our building industry. We a re
running a strong economy. We are doing everything we can to get all these
things done as quickly as we can. We constantly want to see the community of
Kalbarri and the Kimberley recover as quickly as possible.
event. I cannot remember the exact date of the cyclone, but it was more than a year
ago. It was a difficult event for the community of Kalbarri. Obviously, a lot
of damage was done. I visited the community; I saw it all in person. A lot of
damage was done that was debilitating for many households and businesses. Much
public infrastructure was damaged as well. In the period since then, an
enormous recovery effort has been put in place by all government agencies, with
lots of volunteers and by the coordination of the private sector. Both
Ministers for Emergency Services—the member for Baldivis and current
Minister Dawson—put enormous efforts into the Seroja recovery and the
recovery efforts in the Kimberley more recently.
It is difficult to just build a new
house overnight. It takes time to do these things. From memory, the government spent around $50 million on the recovery effort in
Kalbarri. I have seen some reports that we spent $4 million. They are
wrong. About $50 million of infrastructure, grants and so forth have been
rolled out to support the community of Kalbarri in the recovery effort. It does
take time. I urge people to be understanding about it. I urge members not to
politicise it. A lot of people have worked on this, and they have done a terrific
job in a very difficult situation. Also, with so much construction and building
activity underway with existing contracts, it is difficult to do all the work
that is required because so much work is going on. That is the reality we face
in Western Australia. We are doing our best. Our population is growing. We have
the strongest population growth in Australia. We are doing everything we can to secure workers from
interstate and overseas. We are supporting our building industry. We a re
running a strong economy. We are doing everything we can to get all these
things done as quickly as we can. We constantly want to see the community of
Kalbarri and the Kimberley recover as quickly as possible.
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