Flood Commemoration

Contribution to the NewsMail’s flood commemoration book: 

When I reflect on the natural disasters our region has endured in recent years, I am reminded of Dorothea Mackellar’s poem My Country.

Bundaberg is, without a doubt, “a land of droughts and flooding rains; beauty and terror!”

But the people who live here also possess the same unbreakable resilience that is the poem’s underlying theme. 

For some, the 2013 Australia Day weekend was the second time their business or home had flooded in three years. You wouldn’t blame them for throwing in the towel. But that’s not the Australian way!

Throughout the Hinkler electorate, people worked for days in the muck and filth, to help clean up after the floods and tornadoes. Neighbours helped neighbours, strangers helped each other. Countless Australians donated money.

It was a true representation of the Australian spirit. People across Australia and overseas, watching the events unfold on the evening news, were inspired by the Bundaberg community.

The clean-up may be over, but our recovery is still underway. As the Federal Member for Hinkler, I will work with all levels of Government and the community to ensure the region does more than just recover! Together, we can build a stronger, more resilient Bundaberg!

Keith Pitt

Federal Member for Hinkler