Key events34m agoGood morning43m agoHumphries memorial1h agoWelcomeFilters BETAKey events (3)Sydney (4)Queensland (3)6m ago15.34 EST
Watt reiterated the government’s plan to create a response to disasters that’s alternative to the Australian Defence Force, saying he hopes to begin outlining a plan in the first half of next year however it “will take a number of years”.
We’ve made clear that we will always make the ADF available to states and territories when it’s needed. But we do need to have some other options in place.
Watt said “we’re prepared as we possible could be” for the risk of further extreme weather events this summer.
We’re a lot better prepared as a country than we were heading into black summer, four years ago.
At the federal level, things have significantly changed. We’ve now got one coordinated Emergency Management Agency rather than responsibilities being split between different agencies. We’ve started building a national emergency management stockpile for the very first time, we’ve got the largest fleet of firefighting aircraft that Australia’s ever seen.
There’s always going to be surprising events or events that are more intense than what you expect them to be, but I’m confident that we’re aware as well prepared as we possibly can be.
Updated at 15.36 EST18m ago15.23 EST
Queensland flood warnings
The minister for emergency management, Murray Watt, has just appeared on ABC RN from Cairns to speak about the heavy rain and threat of flooding in far north Queensland in the wake of ex-Tropical Cyclone Jasper.
Watt said the good news was there hasn’t been as much damage as people initially feared but he said the floods could be “quite serious” and people need to take “serious precautions”:
This is monsoonal rain for a tropical part of our country, but it is early in the season to be getting this amount of rain. Conditions had been very dry in far north Queensland in the lead-up to this so the soil has been able to absorb this rain pretty well.
But just the sheer volume of rain that we’ve seen in some parts of far north Queensland will be difficult for anywhere to cope with and that’s why we’re seeing those flood warnings in place.
Updated at 15.31 EST23m ago15.18 EST
Some lighter news this morning for you from my colleague Daisy Dumas on the Sydney man dubbed the “Annihilator” who won the Excel world championship.
‘You didn’t just succeed, you Exceled’: Sydney man dubbed the ‘Annihilator’ wins Excel world championshipRead moreUpdated at 15.30 EST31m ago15.09 EST
Transport costs accelerate by more than $900 a year
Transport costs have soared by more than $1,000 a year in some Australian cities, with expenses topping $24,000 on average and putting added pressure on household budgets, AAP reports.
The figures, released by the Australian Automobile Association this week, showed transport costs rose by 4% over the past three months, or more than triple the consumer…
2023-12-14 15:30:04
Article from www.theguardian.com