Leeanne Enoch:
Thank you very much. We’re here on the border of the Woodridge and Algester electorate where community members right across Browns Plains into Logan are all here showing that community spirit that is the true Logan community spirit. Ensuring that everybody’s preparing well for Tropical Cyclone Alfred. We’ve seen multiple community organisations, individuals and families all lending a hand to be able to get prepared for what is going to be quite a significant weather event. And I want to welcome of course our federal member and our federal representatives as well as our local council representatives here today who will have something to say in a moment.
But can I just say another very clear message to all the people across this electorate, but of course, across Queensland is to prepare now. Now is the time to get ready. We know we’re hearing more and more from the Bureau of Meteorology that this cyclone is tracking, will end up tracking towards our coast. We have to prepare now. It’s better to be safe than sorry. So, sandbags here in Logan and across, across the whole region, making sure that you’ve got all of those key things, your get ready plan is all sorted in your local home and of course that you’re reaching out to your neighbours and taking care of them as well. So, for now, get ready and of course, listen to all of those notices and make sure that you’re prepared. I’ll hand over to Jenny now.
Jenny McAllister:
Well, thanks very much, Leeanne. And it’s terrific to be here with representatives from all 3 levels of government. And I say that because at times like this, the community really wants us to pull together. Our government’s focus is on making sure that we provide all of the support that we can – to the state governments, to the local governments that are leading the response to the event that we think is coming towards us. Now, the bureau has become increasingly certain that this cyclone, Tropical Cyclone Alfred, will cross the coast at some point later this week. What is less certain is exactly where that crossing will occur, how strong the cyclone will be at the time of crossing and the precise time of the crossing.
Nonetheless, we are getting ready for it, because as Leeanne has said it’s a really important time for us to all start preparing. The state governments are getting ready, whether it’s the New South Wales Government or the Queensland Government, assets are being mobilised, people are being mobilised, and planning is underway to make sure that governments are in the best possible position to protect communities and keep people safe. But there are things that we need people to do in their own place, and it’s terrific to see the community here out today getting their own homes ready and looking out for their own safety, the safety of their friends, and safety of their family. Just behind me people are filling sandbags and of course what we see are people assisting others, making sure that they have the resources they need to protect their own property.
The Treasurer and I were able to be briefed this morning by the BoM and of course to hear from Queensland officials about the preparations underway. I want to assure everybody that the Albanese government is working hand in glove with both the Queensland Government and the New South Wales Government. We are prepositioning our heavy lift helicopters to make sure that they are available should they be required after Tropical Cyclone Alfred crosses the coast. We are working to make sure that the analysis and the planning is in place so that we know what to expect, and of course we are collaborating closely on making sure that that key message about preparedness is getting out to the community.
So if you are at home please have a good think. Do you have good sources of information about what risk you might be exposed to? Have you got a plan and do you understand what you will need do if your family needs to evacuate or if you do need to stay home in your own home for a few days when it becomes difficult to move around in the community? And are you listening to what authorities are telling you, are you ready to heed that advice, and are you checking in on your neighbours? These are the things we need community to do at this time but I’m confident that working together we can get through this and keep people safe.
Jon Raven:
Good morning folks, and we just want the people of Logan to know the Logan City Council is here to support you. The community is doing an amazing job of supporting each other and getting ready, and we are with you every step of the way. That’s why we have 5 sites across the city where you can collect either sandbags or you can fill your own sandbags, and it is so encouraging to see volunteers coming out in droves to help people who are a little bit older or who are living with disabilities.
As the preparation for Tropical Cyclone Alfred progresses, we are asking people to stay tuned into the normal sources of information, but please only rely on the information that you are getting from trusted sources, from your elected members, from your reliable news stations. There’s a lot of information going out across social media, I would just ask people to make sure it is coming from a reliable source. You can always check in with the BoM, you can check in with those government sources to make sure that that information is real. What’s important is that people stay connected and that you prepare your homes and your yards. By preparing your homes we can do everything we can to support you.
The people of Logan wouldn’t normally get this much warning when we have a potential flood coming. We would normally get a day 2 and then we would have to hit the ground running. This is a fantastic opportunity for you to do everything you can to keep yourselves and your family safe and we want you to know that the City of Logan is here with you along with every level of government. This is a whole of government response that is here to support the community and we will get through this by working together.
Jim Chalmers:
Thanks very much Jon, and Jenny, Leeanne, and Tim Frazer as well from the Logan City Council. It is going to be an anxious wait this week as we wait for the cyclone to cross the shore. It is pretty rare for a cyclone to be this far south but we will be ready for it when it arrives. As Jenny McAllister said we have been briefed this morning as part of the preparations, really at all 3 levels of government.
Australians are there for each other in difficult times like this and all 3 levels of government will be there for you as well. Jenny is from northern New South Wales, we are from the southeast corner of Queensland, we know that the communities will be ready when this cyclone crosses the shore. But it is going to be an anxious wait. We are all bracing for heavy weather. We are prepared for the worst but we hope for the best, and that’s what you are seeing behind you here as well. There is not a better time to clean up the yard and clean out the gutters and charge what needs charging than today. This thing will be on us towards the second half of the week and you need to be ready. You need to be prepared, you need to stay informed, and you need to keep safe. And we want to make sure that people are looking out for each other and looking after each other in all of the neighbourhoods at risk right throughout southeast Queensland and in northern New South Wales as well.
I wanted to say a huge thank you to all the volunteers right around our communities, all the first responders, the SES. We know that a lot of preparation is going into being ready for this cyclone. There is a lot of bravery in our first responders and in our volunteers and in our other community organisations and you are seeing that. As I said, now when things get difficult, Australians are there for each other and we will be there for them as well. It is going to be a difficult week, we are bracing for some very, very heavy weather. This is rare in this part of Australia but we will be ready for it when it comes.
Now, we are happy to take a few questions on any of this and then I’m going to circle back on the National Accounts at the end. But over to you.
Journalist:
Treasurer, what is the economic impact of Cyclone Alfred based on your briefings today, what is expected?
Chalmers:
We are focused primarily on the human cost of what we are expecting not the economic cost. Of course there will be an economic cost when all is said and done, but the overwhelming focus, the sole focus of all 3 levels of government, certainly the Albanese Labor government, is to make sure that we are ready, that we are prepared. When the time comes there will be a cost, no doubt about that. There will be a cost to the economy and there will be a cost to the budget, but we will do what’s necessary when the time comes. Our focus primarily, exclusively, is on making sure that people are ready for the heavy weather that’s coming.
Journalist:
When was the last time a Prime Minister called an election in the immediate aftermath of a natural disaster, and do you think the PM could delay going to the Governor‑General if it was planned for this weekend?
Chalmers:
Honestly, the timing of the election couldn’t be further from my mind this morning. We are trying to help local people get ready for this heavy weather, which is coming, I have been with Jenny McAllister getting briefed, working closely with the state government and with local councils like this wonderful local council here in Logan City. That has been our focus. The Prime Minister will call the election sometime in the next couple of months. That is a matter for him in consultation with his colleagues. I’m not aware of the history that you are asking me about, but our focus overwhelmingly today is helping people prepare.
Journalist:
Has the Prime Minister given you any indication when he will go to the Governor‑General?
Chalmers:
I’m obviously not going to get into the private conversations that I have with the Prime Minister about these sorts of things. We had a series of meetings yesterday, a cabinet meeting and other meetings, a National Security Committee of Cabinet, and I’m not going to get into those private conversations.
Journalist:
This might be one for the senator. What is the Army’s involvement – you were talking about some of the assets to be pre‑prepared but will we see the Army go door to door throughout this disaster?
McAllister:
So Queensland will lead the response here in southeast Queensland and of course the New South Wales Government will lead the response there. Our role is to be good partners to those governments. To be supportive, to be engaged, and to understand what might be required if the event starts to exceed their local capability. Of course in the past we have often seen the ADF engaged in a direct response to a request from a state government, and that door remains open. At the moment of course the ADF have been briefed, they are deeply engaged, they are fully aware of the situation, but we are yet to receive any formal request for assistance from the Queensland Government at this point.
Journalist:
The MRH90 helicopters were crucial in the rescues of people in 2011. What are you doing without that capability given the Chinooks aren’t really designed to do what the Taipans did back in 2011 in terms of rescues? They are more heavy lifting and logistics.
McAllister:
As I indicated, the Queensland Government will lead the response here in Queensland and New South Wales will lead it in their own state, and there’s a range of assets that are available to both those governments to support that response.
We have made investments in the national fleet and that of course includes 3 heavy lift helicopters which have been prepositioned into New South Wales and Queensland so that we have got those assets in the region to provide support if required.
We are yet to receive any requests for ADF support and I think we would make an assessment about how we could best provide that support once we understood what was required from either the Queensland or the New South Wales government.
Journalist:
Just for the mayor. In Logan, you know, part of it was hit quite hard during the 2022 floods. What efforts is your council taking to prepare for this event and what is different now that it’s a cyclone? Are you having to tie things down? What’s the difference?
Raven:
Yes, so the messaging is very different when it’s a cyclone.
Our community is unfortunately very good at managing floods, they are experienced with it.
They had floods in 2017, they had floods in 2022, and then at the end of 2023 on Christmas Day they had a huge storm that came through the southern parts of our city causing all the sorts of damage. So we are very experienced.
The message with cyclones is make sure you tie down what’s in your yard and tidy your yard up. It’s a great opportunity to spring clean and get in there and make it tidy.
But the important message to the community is looking after your neighbours. Exactly like Jim Chalmers said, it is the community spirit in Logan that makes it so powerful. And what we are seeing behind us with sandbags out 5, 6 days before we are going to see flooding is incredible.
We have never done that as a city before and it’s something that I knew that when we saw the first warnings that people would want sandbags.
We are seeing all over southeast Queensland incredible amounts of sand is being picked up by people because they want to protect their homes and we are here to help them do that.
Journalist:
How much sand do you have? Have you got enough for the next few days?
Raven:
Not only do we have enough, we have almost got too much.
Every landscaping yard in the city is in a flood plain. So they are basically saying to us please take our sand because it’s going to be washed down the river anyway.
So it’s an amazing opportunity for them to not only help the community but it also saves them money because it gets it off their site and they don’t need to try and clean it up afterwards.
Journalist:
Access is 24 hours 7 days a week for the sandbags.
Raven:
So as long as there is sand here people can come and pick it up.
Last night we finished at about 7 o’clock at night. Tonight we are going to go later. We have actually got local businesses who are leaning in and saying that they will continue to deliver sand through the night if that’s what they need, and we thank them for that and we are going to pick them up on that offer.
Journalist:
Do you have kerbside collection in Logan? Has that been halted in the meantime?
Raven:
We do do kerbside cleanup and it is one of our most popular services. So right now–
Journalist:
Probably not on Friday.
Raven:
Yes, not on Friday when we are expecting the heavy weather.
We have actually got a lot of kerbside cleanup in Yarrabilba and we have doubled the resources to make sure that’s all cleaned up by Wednesday afternoon, Thursday morning. So that’s great news there. For the other people who are in Tamborine, Kagaru and Cedar Vale, we have asked them to take their kerbside back in and we will pick them up afterwards.
Journalist:
Treasurer, just another question on Brisbane Arena and its review. The final report is due on Saturday. Is your government committed to the $2.5 billion for Brisbane Arena, and does Brisbane deserve an inner‑city live entertainment venue?
Chalmers:
Of course it does. We have committed $2.5 billion towards making these Olympic Games amazing.
We have done that very enthusiastically, very proudly working with the former state government and the current state government to make that funding available.
We are very enthusiastic and willing partners. We will see the report when it comes out.
Obviously it’s something that a lot of people are interested in. Everybody wants to make the Games here a success, including the federal government, and we will play a helpful role. But we have already made it really clear that we have got $2.5 billion on the table primarily for the arena but also for some small venues around southeast Queensland as well.
Journalist:
Will you give more money to larger venues if a new stadium requires more than the money committed already?
Chalmers:
That’s not our intention.
We have already found $2.5 billion, that’s not a little amount of money.
We found $2.5 billion as our contribution towards making the Olympic Games in Brisbane, the southeast corner of Queensland, an unbelievable showcase for the best part of Australia.
We are looking forward to providing that funding. We haven’t been contemplating providing more than that. The state government has to do their bit, but we have provided already $2.5 billion and that should be enough.
Journalist:
Do you hope to see it in more detail even if you are in caretaker mode?
Chalmers:
Of course. We look forward to working closely with the newish state government, just like we worked closely with the former state government, to help make these Games a success. We engage at multiple levels. I have spoken with the Treasurer about it, my terrific colleagues Catherine King, Anika Wells and others, the Prime Minister. We have all been engaged in it. We know there’s a lot of detail to be released and we’ll see it when it is.
Journalist:
WA Premier Roger Cook has reportedly referred to US Vice President JD Vance as a ‘knob’. Does this sort of language from a state premier damage tariff discussions with the US?
Chalmers:
I wouldn’t have thought so. It’s up to Roger Cook to choose his own words. He’s an absolutely outstanding Premier.
Journalist:
Would you choose those words?
Chalmers:
I’d choose different words, but I’m not making any judgments about the words that Roger chose.
I’ve been asked on a number of occasions now to comment on announcements and things being said by the American administration. I point out today, as I pointed out on every other occasion, the Americans speak for the American administration. We speak for the Australian Government. That’s our job.
I might just say something briefly about the National Accounts tomorrow and then happy to leave you the rest of your day.
Tomorrow we will get the National Accounts for the last quarter of last year.
This will be a backward looking indication of how the Australian economy finished 2024. There are good reasons to believe that the Australian economy is starting to turn a corner. We expect growth towards the end of last year to still have been relatively soft. Economists expect it to pick up a little bit, but not a lot.
I don’t want to make predictions or pre‑empt those numbers. We’ll see that data in due course tomorrow morning.
There are good reasons to be increasingly confident about our economy in 2025. We’ve got inflation down, we’ve got wages up, we’ve kept unemployment low, we’ve paid down a lot of Liberal debt and now interest rates have started to come down as well.
Interest rates coming down means something like an extra $5 billion pumped into our economy over 12 months. It will have a positive impact on growth and living standards, combined with what we’ve been able to do to get real wages growing again to make sure that people are earning more and keeping more of what they earn in an economy where unemployment is remarkably low. All of these things augur well for our economy in 2025.
The data we get tomorrow will be 2024. It will be backward looking. If it picks up a little bit, it’ll still be probably, according to the economists who make these predictions, relatively soft.
But good reasons to be confident about the economy in 2025. The economy is turning a corner. We have been providing that cost‑of‑living relief, including the tax cuts, that’s been helping. Wages have been growing again. That’s been helping. Interest rates are now coming down.
When we came to office, inflation and interest rates were going up. Now inflation and interest rates are both going down. That’s a good thing. But the job’s not done. That’s why this would be the worst possible time to risk Peter Dutton and the Liberals who will make you worse off. They won’t tell you where your hundreds of billions of dollars in cuts are coming from and they’ll take Australia backwards.
Thanks very much.