Below is an extract from a central Queensland newspaper, plus a couple of comments posted on the net. Kev’s Office endorses this article.
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$1m state relief fund an ‘insult’ | Emerald News | Local News in
Daniel Burdon | 30th December 2010
CONTRIBUTING just $1 million to the disaster relief fund is an insult to rural families and primary producers across the state, according to a prominent Emerald grazier.
Living on the Nogoa River, Leon Clothier has kept one eye on the river levels and an ear to the radio for the past few weeks.
As town residents were being evacuated from Emerald, Mr Clothier entered the river with a “mouthful of nails, a hammer, measuring tape and shorts” on to get the latest river levels, which he said are now 5.8 metres above the top of Fairbairn Dam, exceeding the 2008 floods by 1.3 metres thus far.
He said the announcement yesterday that Premier Anna Bligh’s office had contributed a mere $1 million to the disaster relief effort “disgusted producers”, and came as a slap in the face after former Prime Minister Rudd donated $75 million to Pakistan for their flood relief efforts.
Mr Clothier was not alone in his view that the state and federal government’s contributions, each of $1 million, was pitiful when considering his son-in-law had already lost more than $1 million worth of cotton.
Such stories were not a rarity, Mr Clothier said, but more like the norm.
He said: “I’ve spoken to one of our neighbours, and he said he had seen dead cattle coming down the river, and while I haven’t lost any cattle, there is a lot of flooding.
“There are plenty more people out there doing it tougher than me.”
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Recent Comments
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Posted by ricklin from Biloela, Queensland
30 December 2010 9:02 p.m. | Suggest removal » | Post reply »
How about the State and indeed the nation cancel all the money wasting New Year’s fireworks and attached celebrations and give all of that money to relief appeals across our nation. City folk need to feel the pain of the country too!
Posted by geraint from Norman Gardens, Queensland
30 December 2010 11:45 p.m. | Suggest removal » | Post reply »
ricklin, fair point about the fireworks, but the big cities have had their fair share of disasters too – bush fires, storms, flash flooding, etc. It’s not just the country cities and towns that cop it.
Posted by cquau from Central Queensland Mc, Queensland
31 December 2010 1:33 a.m. | Suggest removal » | Post reply »
As a local miner yesterday said in trying to come to terms with Government insensitivity towards flood-ravaged Queenslanders,
‘The Australian Government gave in excess of seven million dollars to Pakistan and yet it can’t even help its own.
‘Similarly, the Australian Government is spending 10 million dollars on fireworks celebrations on the Sydney Harbour Bridge for New Years Eve and flood-stricken Queenslanders have lost everything!
One child when interviewed by media said,‘We only have one bottle of milk left.’
Any decent government would cancel ‘celebrations’ instead of thumbing the victim.
Party on spendthrifts, we’ll repay you at the polls and dance at your funeral then.
Posted by cquau from Central Queensland Mc, Queensland
31 December 2010 1:39 a.m. | Suggest removal » | Post reply »
Ricklin, I couldn’t agree more and I am certain that the people of Theodore, Chinchilla, Rocky, etc would like to say a few words on this. Is this the only country that rejoices in suffering?
There could be no greater shame than for the rest of the world to know how our Government abandoned the people in their greatest most devastating hour of need, in favour of partying down in the South…where I am certain flood victims are far from their minds as they go ahead and kick up their expensive heels.
We have less than 24 hours to plead with the Nation’s and indeed State’s leaders to
‘Please donot go ahead with your multi-million-dollar party…Give it to the people. Have a bit of common decency if you can’t have compassion.’
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