JIM CHALMERS MP
SHADOW TREASURER
MEMBER FOR RANKIN
E&OE TRANSCRIPT
TELEVISION INTERVIEW
WEEKEND TODAY
SUNDAY, 27 FEBRUARY 2022
SUBJECTS: Queensland flood emergency; Flood of kindness and generosity in drenched Queensland communities; Russian invasion of Ukraine; Courage of the Ukrainian people; Tightening the screws on the Russian economy.
JAYNE AZZOPARDI, HOST: We're hearing South East Queensland is saturated, communities are stranded, and the high tide on Sunday morning has pushed the Brisbane River into the suburbs. Now many more residents are facing the harsh reality of losing everything. Let's bring in now the Minister for Emergency Management and National Recovery Bridget McKenzie and the Shadow Treasurer Jim Chalmers. Good morning to both of you. We'll start with you Jim, because this is affecting your community. You're currently in the Logan region. It's just received a warning to prepare properties, what's the latest where you are?
JIM CHALMERS, SHADOW TREASURER: It's going to be an incredibly difficult day today. We know from briefings from the Bureau of Meteorology, from the state government, from the federal government, that it's going to get more difficult before it gets better. So everybody here is bracing for an incredibly difficult day.
We owe a massive debt of gratitude to all of the volunteers throughout South East Queensland, here at the SES depot at Logan, the rural fireys, QFES, everyone who's putting themselves in harm's way today to help people out. Typically at times like this, as the Mayor of Gympie just said, we do see a flood of kindness and a flood of generosity. That's what we're seeing today as people brace themselves for what will be a really difficult day for a lot of people.
AZZOPARDI: And we know on top of what they're dealing with physically, this is bringing back a lot of memories for Queenslanders. How is the community doing, Jim?
CHALMERS:I think there's a feeling of dread. We have been here a couple of times in the last decade or so, and so it's got that ominous sense. You can see, not just the water coming up on the roads, but you know what's coming. You know as well that even when the rain stops often the difficult time is for a day or two, or a week or two, after that. But people generally look out for each other and look after each other. There is something wonderful about our communities, the way that they do that, the way that there is that flood of kindness when things like this happen. Everybody will be okay, they need to stay safe, only travel if you need to. If it's flooded, forget it. Make sure you're staying across the developments online and on the radio.
AZZOPARDI: Bridget, I imagine you would echo what Jim is saying there about the volunteers and the help the people are offering, the damage is already horrendous. How is the government going to step in and help?
BRIDGET MCKENZIE, NATIONALS SENATOR: Yeah, thanks, and I, you know, absolutely echo Jim's sentiments there. Queenslanders are known around the country for their resilience and their ability to cope with the range of natural disasters that they have to, but as we've heard earlier this morning, you know, in Gympie, particularly we're seeing a one in a hundred year event on ground that's already been highly saturated. So this is a serious event. It's life threatening. We've already seen seven people lose their lives. And as a federal government, we stand shoulder to shoulder with the state government and local councils in the broader communities to offer response right now, in the immediate response time, and over the coming week as orders peak, but also in the long recovery going forward. So in terms of the ten local councils, we've got already financial support hitting the ground for them in the clean-up space. We've also dispatched two helicopters from the ADF, who've been working overnight to help evacuate and rescue people. But we know, you know, 20,000 plus people are without power. This is a significant event. I'm flying with the Prime Minister to Brisbane today to get a briefing from the Queensland Commissioner Leach, and obviously the state minister and the Premier. And, I guess, this is, when natural disaster strikes Australian communities, as you've heard, it's not just the local communities that pull together, but the whole nation, I think, is thinking of Queenslanders as what they make their way through this event.
AZZOPARDI: That is that is absolutely true, and particularly for the families of the six people who've tragically lost their lives already. Bridget, we know the pain of this is going to be felt for a long time. You've spoken there about some of the physical things the government is going to be delivering. Is there going to be support for people's mental health, particularly people for whom this is bringing back terrible memories as well as the trauma of what's happening right now?
MCKENZIE: Yeah, it's a really good point. I mean, often we only think about disaster response in this immediate phase. but recovery from natural disaster can take many, many years. And we have a raft of supports, that we partner with state and local governments and community agencies over the years after a natural disaster, to ensure that if we've lost infrastructure we build it back better. But also those more social supports to ensure that communities are better prepared for the next time.
AZZOPARDI: Alright, from natural disasters here at home to an unnatural disaster that is unfolding overseas. Jim, things in Ukraine are only escalating. We've seen sanctions, and sanctions put on Russia and the President himself. Still this war is going on. What more needs to happen in your opinion?
CHALMERS: We should be looking for more ways to tighten the screws on Putin and his regime, and the Russian economy. There’ve been welcome developments along those lines overnight. We hope that the new sanctions, particularly in the financial system, do sting the Russian economy, and we should be looking for other ways as well.
I think, to some extent, the Russians have underestimated the really quite incredible courage of the Ukrainian people, who are standing up to this vile and unprovoked act of aggression in Ukraine. I know that the whole world is watching what's happening there, but for a lot of Australians, particularly from that part of Europe, times like these can be a really horrible reminder of situations that they may have fled in the past. Also, I think for all of us, a horrible reminder of the worst of the 20th Century.
We stand as one with the Ukrainian people, and one of the things that we can do is to really try and tighten the screws on the Russian economy and on Vladimir Putin in particular. There have been some steps in that regard and if there are more steps that could be taken, then they should be taken.
AZZOPARDI: Bridget, we're all watching these images of people - families just like our own - fleeing their war-torn city. Should Australia be taking refugees from Ukraine?
MCKENZIE: Yeah, absolutely. We've already made, you know, moves in that regard. I think you're dead right. You know, Ukraine is fighting for its very life as a free and sovereign nation, and who would have thought in this day and age that another country could just roll tanks in, be bombing citizens and civilians, completely unprovoked. It's, you know, it's absolutely to be condemned, and I think the world has placed some really significant economic sanctions. But there is one country that hasn't joined the rest of the world, and that is China. Whilst we are putting severe economic, unprecedented economic sanctions - on just not Premier, President Putin, and Foreign Minister Lavrov and the broader Russian nation - China is standing there offering them almost an economic lifeline. China has stated that Russia, you know, is their no limits friendship. Well, this is the type for countries that actually have influence over Putin to use it. So I would be calling on President Xi to pick up the phone, and if it's such a no limitless friendship, to actually stand up for the Ukraine and the rules-based order that has kept us so safe.
AZZOPARDI: Okay. Thank you both. Sorry to cut you off, thank you both for your time. We have a busy news day, so we will head over now to Charles.
CHARLES CROUCHER, HOST: Thank you Jayne, you could really hear the water coming down where Jim was in Logan.
ENDS
