Burketown Community Morning Tea

Burketown Shire Council Mayor, Councillor Ernie Camp; Chief Executive Officer, Mr Dan McKinlay; Councillors of Burke Shire and surrounding shires; members of our frontline emergency services; ladies and gentlemen.

I begin by acknowledging the Traditional Owners of the lands on which we gather, the Gangalidda and Garawa people, and pay my respects to the many First Nations people here today and all their elders past, present and emerging.  

I’m so pleased to finally be here with you, in this beautiful part of Queensland and I would like to thank you for meeting with me today which for so many of you meant traveling a great distance to get here.

I made a pledge when taking on this role to visit Queenslanders where they live, and recently I have had the time – and the great fortune – to continue to make good on that promise.

Just last month I travelled to the Cape York Peninsula including a drive from Weipa to Lockhart River. I visited schools, hospitals and medical centres, environmental, cultural, community and business organisations, and as many everyday Queenslanders as possible.

Of course, in places as remote as Cape York Peninsula, and indeed here in Burketown, what passes for ‘every day’ is quite different from the experiences of those in our big cities and towns.

For example, there aren’t many places in the State, or the world for that matter, where people are advised to stay off their own streets to lessen the chance of an encounter with a crocodile or a bull shark!

Yet according to news reports, that’s exactly what was happening here, in Burketown, during the horrific flood event in March. I was so saddened to hear of the terrible losses you suffered.

The fortitude your community showed during the floods, your willingness to work with the authorities and emergency services to evacuate, many of you with nothing more than a bag on your back, and your incredible resolve in returning here to pick up and carry on, demonstrates a special kind of resilience.

Despite great loss of property, including homes and businesses, and much heartbreak over lost livestock, there was no loss of human life, and for that we are all so grateful.

Many of you here today were part of the evacuation and the recovery efforts, and for that I commend and thank you on behalf of all Queenslanders.

The measure of a town and a community is not how many people live there, nor how much it contributes to the State’s economy, nor whether it’s on a tourist map.

It’s the way it looks after all those who choose to live there.

For all those who call Burketown home, I can assure you that we are proud of your contributions to Queensland, and ready and willing to help you in times of need.

Of course, the frontline emergency workers and volunteers who took part in the flood recovery deserve special mention.

Operating in any flood situation comes with inherent risks. Add to this the difficulties of operating in an extremely remote location, and one where crocodiles and sharks are forever present.

While I know the extensive planning and training you undertake means you are as well prepared as possible, I appreciate the personal sacrifice you and your loved ones make when you bravely step forward to help others in such treacherous circumstances.

Again, on behalf of a grateful State, I thank you.

I would like to end by inviting Burketown Mayor, Councillor Ernie Camp to say a few words but before he does, I want to personally congratulate him and his team of Councillors and staff in their resilience and the tremendous efforts in working so well for their community.

Thank you.