E&OE TRANSCRIPT
TV INTERVIEW
SKY NEWS
SUNDAY, 2 APRIL 2017

SUBJECT/S: Flooding in Logan

JOHANNA MARIE: That's right. Well his electorate encompasses south of Brisbane, all the way down here to Logan and he was out and about having a look around and speaking to people and I actually bumped into him and we had a quick chat. Let's take a listen.

We're here at Loganlea and it's just over the border from your electorate that you've been driving around. What sort of things have you been seeing in the area here?

JIM CHALMERS, SHADOW MINISTER FOR FINANCE: There's still substantial water over the roads in lots of places right around Logan, not just the northern end which I represent but especially to the south and to the west. So people still need to exercise maximum caution. There are road closures, including in my electorate around Paradise Road, Kingston Road and a number of other roads as well. Overnight, we had the peak at Waterford, which was one of the worst-affected areas and, as you can see behind us, we've still got lots and lots of water around. It will take some time for that to subside.

MARIE: Have you seen anything like this happen in the area before? There were warnings put out the day or so before it started to flood, but it appears that some places weren't expecting it to flood in those areas and others saw flooding.

CHALMERS: This is by far the worst flooding I've seen. I've lived here most of the last 39 year and this is by far the worst it's been. And it's much worse than it was in 1974, much worse than it was a couple of years ago. And so I think for a lot of people, despite all of the good work that goes into alerting them, it still is a bit of a shock to some people to see how high it has risen. There are some areas around my electorate, around Marsden and parts like that where we expected it to be worse. There are some parts where we expected it to be not quite as bad. But the authorities have done a good job trying to alert people, trying to tell people when to evacuate, what they need to do to prepare, who they need to stay in contact with. But this is such an extraordinary weather event - such substantial flooding - that no doubt some people were taken by surprise.

MARIE: What do you think the feeling amongst the community is? Are people pretty resilient? Do they feel like they are going to recover from this?

CHALMERS: Definitely, and one of the really amazing things - and even today as we were talking before we went on air - the amount of people who are prepared to help others. People who are unaffected, who are looking for ways to help people who are affected. And then the people who are affected; there's a real community spirit here. People are pretty resilient around these parts, so they'll just get on and do what they need to do. Of course, we've had some tragedies, but for most people, it'll be a big clean-up effort and they'll just roll up their sleeves and get on with it.

MARIE: How can people help out if that's what they're wanting to do? Can they come in and volunteer, help clean up the streets? What's the best way and who should they get in contact with?

CHALMERS: One of the most heartening things really has been the amount of people who have contacted me on social media, and I know they have contacted the Mayor and State MPs in this part of the world really too just to say "we're unaffected, but we want to help out those who've been impacted by this flooding". It's been a really terrific outpouring of support. The best thing for them to do is to go to the Volunteering Queensland website. There's an emergency volunteering page there where you can register or update your details. We're still in the phase where things have only just peaked, so it'll take a little while for the waters to subside and that's really the phase that we need the most help for. So I'd encourage people to get on that page, the Volunteering Queensland page, update your details or register your details. And I want to say to everyone who's been in contact just how much we appreciate the effort that people are prepared to put in for each other. This is a community that looks out for each other and looks after each other and it's been heartening to see the response.

ENDS