SUBJECTS: Tropical Cyclone Narelle; Fuel supply
MINISTER FOR EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT KRISTY MCBAIN: Can I start today by thanking all of our emergency service workers. SES, health workers, first responders, defence personnel and volunteers who have been working around the clock to keep communities safe in the path of Severe Tropical Cyclone Narelle. It has been a tense 24 hours for Far North Queensland, but preparations have served communities well. This system crossed the Gulf of Carpentaria in Queensland yesterday as a very intense Category 4 system before losing some of that intensity. And while it is still early days, initial reports indicate the damage caused was not as bad as it could have been. A number of roads remain closed due to flooding, and we have approximately 1,150 customers across Cape York without power which should be rectified later today. Damage assessments across Queensland are already underway, and this will help to determine what further supports are needed in recovery. I understand Coen Airstrip is open and the priority over coming days will be resupply and welfare checks. From today, we will track Severe Tropical Cyclone Narelle across the Gulf of Carpentaria as it continues to move west toward the Northern Territory. We expect the system to make landfall between Birany Birany and Numbulwar as a severe tropical cyclone this evening. Territorians are urged to prepare now for this severe weather event if they have not done so already. We know this will be a tough weekend for communities in the Northern Territory who have been battling severe flooding since early February.
The Australian Defence Force is already providing support, including the evacuation of members from communities in Numbulwar to Darwin, which is now complete. Defence have also embedded an Air Liaison Officer in the Northern Territory emergency operating centre. The Australian Government is also working with the NT Government to respond to health emergencies if needed. The National Critical Care and Trauma Response Centre has deployed a team to Katherine to undertake a health needs assessment, and pre-position clinical resources, including a field hospital, should this be required.
Of course, this has been a long high risk weather season for many communities that have been impacted by flooding. So I am pleased to announce further Commonwealth assistance for a number of communities in Queensland and the Northern Territory. We are activating our Australian Government Disaster Recovery Payment in more areas, including Chinchilla in the Western Downs Local Government Area, and Bundaberg Central, Bundaberg East, Bundaberg North and Bundaberg South in the Bundaberg Local Government Area. And in the Northern Territory, these areas will extend to Daly River and Maranunga in the Victoria Daly Local Government Area, and Lansdowne in the Roper Gulf. These payments will be available from 2PM on Tuesday. The Disaster Recovery Allowance will also be made available in more areas. For more information, please make sure you check the Services Australia website. The quickest way to claim both AGDRP and DRA is online through myGov. Additional assessments will be made for the impacted areas by Tropical Cyclone Narelle as soon as possible.
So just to recap. The Australian Government is working closely with both the Queensland and NT Governments on this response, and will continue to do so as we move into the recovery phase. I note the Queensland Premier and my colleague the Member for Leichhardt Matt Smith will be in Cooktown and Coen later today to speak directly with community members. But we must say, the danger is not yet over. I urge everyone in the warning zone to prepare, enact their emergency plans if they haven’t already done so. Listen to local radio for updates, and listen to the advice of local authorities. If there is an emergency around you, please call Triple Zero. Look out for vulnerable community members, including children and the elderly. Please stay safe in this event. We know the catchments are already very wet and soggy so if it is flooded, please forget it.
JESSICA ROUSSELL, BUREAU OF METEOROLOGY: Yesterday we saw Tropical Cyclone Narelle cross the Cape York Peninsula with observed wind speeds at Weipa and Lockhart River of 110km/h and rain totals of 200-300mm in 24 hours. Today our attention turns to the Northern Territory. The system is currently sitting in the Gulf of Carpentaria as a Category 2. As it moves to the Territory it will continue to strengthen. Impacts will also start to be felt on the ground from tonight by coastal communities. The system will approach the coast north of Groote Eylandt as a Category 3 system and is expected to cross between Numbulwar and Birany Birany overnight. What this means is we can expect to see destructive wind gusts near the centre of the system up to 195km/h. We can also expect to see heavy rainfall between 150-200mm daily with the passage of the system. A tropical cyclone warning is current between Nuhlumbuy and Boorollola. As the system moves on shore, it will continue to weaken however the risk for significant rainfall remains. Primarily on Sunday into Monday we will see peak rainfall days. And that will affect the Katherine River, the Daly River, the Waterhouse River and the Adelaide River catchments with the possibility of major flooding at those locations. Into next week the system will track over the Northern Kimberley and move offshore into the Indian Ocean from Tuesday.
NEMA DEPUTY COORDINATOR-GENERAL, KATARINA CARROLL: Good morning everyone, and welcome to the National Situation Room. Northern Territory and Queensland have endured multiple current events, with the latest being Cyclone Narelle. On Thursday this week, NEMA convened two National Coordination Mechanism meetings to provide situational awareness on the severe weather impacts, but also to ensure preparedness from Australian Government agencies as well as Queensland and Northern Territory Governments. Our Crisis Coordination Team is working with the Bureau in the National Situation Room, and state-based liaison officers are working with State and Territory governments for any assistance that they may require. NEMA has embedded liaison officers in both the Northern Territory and Queensland to provide support, not only in the last few months, but certainly through the rest of the high risk weather season. And we are working closely with the ADF and particularly NT at the moment to coordinate any recent requests. And the Minister has touched on the request recently with Defence evacuating residents from communities and Numbulwar, taking them to Darwin as late as last night. Some 342 people were evacuated. Can I sincerely thank Defence and the Northern Territory Government for what was, in the end, a very seamless operation. NEMA is also working closely with NT for the request of assistance for the medical team to go into Katherine for a field hospital. Again, the Minister has touched on this, and we expect those requests to be finalised today, and that to happen over the next couple of days. And what has also been touched on, whilst the cyclone has passed through the northern part of Queensland, it is still to make it to the NT. So please do not panic, and please do not be complacent, take the action required and listen closely to your authorities. Thank you.
JOURNALIST: You spoke about the Government's response. What does that look like in terms of the number of personnel and that kind of thing that we can expect on the ground once that assessment is made, or even during the assessment?
MCBAIN: Obviously, we've had a range of ADF personnel on the ground already. They are assisting with clean up across Katherine from the flooding already. That operation is due to cease on 26 March, but obviously with continual rainfall that may need to be extended. We've had a range of ADF personnel that have been doing evacuations. We've got NEMA officials embedded in both Queensland and the Northern Territory, and we have been actioning requests for assistance as soon as possible.
JOURNALIST: That action, that request that's to NEMA is it?
MCBAIN: That's right.
JOURNALIST: And how many ADF personnel are on the ground at the moment?
MCBAIN: Oh, look, it fluctuates depending on what the task is, but we have worked really closely, particularly with Queensland and Northern Territory, to activate those as soon as possible. There have been a range of ADF personnel out of RAAF Base Tindall, who have been volunteering in that clean up and recovery space in their own capacity. That request was formalised by the Northern Territory Government, and obviously you'll now see uniforms on the ground there.
JOURNALIST: Do you know how many people are without power this morning?
MCBAIN: So across Cape York, about 1,100 people are without power. But we've had Ergon Energy, who pre-deployed a range of personnel towards the top end to assist as soon as they were able to do so. The Queensland Government have worked really closely to make sure that we had personnel available. With NEMA we've made sure that we've coordinated both telcos as well if there was any outages there, to get there as soon as possible. So there's been a range of pre-deployments of personnel and assets.
JOURNALIST: How's the current national fuel crisis impacting the response?
MCBAIN: Look, NEMA in our National Coordination Mechanism meetings, even when we're in a natural disaster, already hosts a range of meetings with industry, including with supermarkets, telcos and industry in particular, to get resupply into communities that may be cut off. So it's part of business as usual for NEMA to work across industry to make sure that we are getting assets and services available as soon as possible. Obviously, we've seen a spike in fuel supply across the country, but we go through our normal National Coordination Mechanism meetings with industry to make sure that we can resupply as soon as possible.
JOURNALIST: There's no risk of emergency services, ADF, anyone responding to this emergency not having the supplies they need?
MCBAIN: No absolutely not. We've made sure that we've got more reserves in Australia on Australian soil than ever before. And obviously NEMA, ADF and emergency services are one of those agencies that we would look to prioritise, particularly in terms of natural disaster.
JOURNALIST: On a similar but different topic, is there, the Infrastructure Department is basically canvassing to see if people will be required to work from home, almost eerily similar to COVID. Is that the case? And do you have a role to play in that, in terms of a national perhaps task force response?
MCBAIN: I think NEMA has already played a really critical role in bringing industry together early on, when we knew that the Middle East crisis was kicking off. NEMA convened a National Coordination Mechanism meeting with industry and fuel suppliers and government early on to talk about what the response looked like. Obviously, there'll need to be some arrangements made if this situation continues. But stores of fuel are good in Australia, every ship has arrived on schedule, but we obviously are planning for the long term.
JOURNALIST: So, but does that look like ordering people to stay from home?
MCBAIN: Look at this stage, you know, we're focused on making sure that rural and regional communities are getting access to the fuel reserves that they need. And that has been the priority, obviously, of this new Fuel Commissioner. That was the priority of NEMA before this new step came into intervene.
JOURNALIST: You as a minister, though, are you meeting with other like-minded or relevant ministers to perhaps coordinate any national response or any national order, again, similar to COVID?
MCBAIN: I think you've obviously seen a range of ministers already coming together, particularly around industry, to work on what that response looks like, including the Agriculture Minister, Industry Minister, the Energy Minister and the Treasurer. So we'll continue to play those roles as required. As I said, NEMA as an agency, plays one of those roles already, in terms of natural disaster, getting supplies around the country.
JOURNALIST: If people were ordered to stay from home, what's kind of the trigger point? Or how long can our fuel stocks last before we think, okay, now we have to send people home. People shouldn't be coming into work?
MCBAIN: Look, I think that's obviously going to be a situation that we'll need to look at. I think ministers are working really closely together, and now we've got this Fuel Commissioner in place, those plans will, I'm sure, be talked about at some point in the future. But the priority at the moment is making sure that industry can continue on getting fuel out to where it's needed most, in rural and regional Australia.
