Miserable New Year
I want to wish you all a Happy New Year, but that doesn't quite fit the mood here in flood-stricken Queensland. As you know, the state is dealing with the most widespread flooding in its history, making a mockery of Queensland's famous boast: that it is beautiful one day and perfect the next.
With its aquamarine seas, inviting beaches and tropical feel, the Sunshine State so often provides the stock footage of tourism advertisements. Picture postcard Australia, if you like. Proof of the country's status as a lifestyle superpower. But the most striking images these past few days have been of muddy brown waters covering vast expanses of land - "Germany and France combined" is the yardstick de jour.
We have been here for the past few days, and have shared, in a very minor way, some of the frustrations. The closed roads. The intense heat and humidity. The mosquitos. The threat from venomous snakes. The uncertainty of not knowing where you are going to spend the next night, or whether we will get to power the gear we need to broadcast. Needless to say, these inconveniencies do not even merit the slightest quiver on the gauge of human suffering compared to what Queenslanders have been confronting.
A colleague once described reporters as being like the storm-troopers of globalisation, descending, like a flash mob, on people caught in the clutch of awful circumstance, and then leaving the scene as quickly as the story slipped from the headlines. Largely because of the advances in satellite technology and the internet, news organizations have become adept at providing real-time coverage of these kinds of disasters. What we are not particularly good at conveying, quite frankly, is showing the extent to which these events blight peoples' lives for months, and often years to come.
Interest will probably peak with the floodwaters. So farmers rueing the loss of their crops or people with inadequate insurance trying to figure out how to rebuild will probably do so out of the global glare.
There will be ramifications across Australia, of course, way beyond the flood zone. It will mean increased grocery prices at supermarkets and lost revenues from the mining sector - estimated at A$100 million a day - which will have knock-on effect of the state and federal coffers.
In this face of this disaster, various national character traits have come to fore. After all, clichés often start out as truisms. There has been the grittiness and self-sufficiency one would expect. The love of home, which partly explains the reluctance of residents to leave. A strong community spirit, especially in the bush. The acute understanding, long-held in this part of the world, that nature can be furious and overwhelming. Then, of course, there is the gallows humour.
I write from a boat trying to make it as close to Rockhampton as we can get. You will forgive me my wry chuckle when, amidst families loaded with must-have luggage, a young bloke came on board clutching a box of Castlemaine 4X.
~RS~q~RS~~RS~z~RS~36~RS~)
I'm 
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And I thought climate change was meant to make central Queensland hotter and drier. Maybe that politician with the cowboy hat was right and the Aussies need to build some more dams to use some of this water to irrigate the inland.
I would like to understand a bit more about the economic impact of the flooding. Over the weekend here I read that the floods will slow coal mining but the price of coal is going up - so will this compensate for the loss of production. Also I understand these floods will not impact on wheat or wool yields - so what do they grow in that part of the world?
BTW Nick I would like to know a bit more about this batsman - the first Muslim to play cricket for Australia. Particularly as those down under give us so much stick for relying on South African imports to boost our team.
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This comment was removed because the moderators found it broke the House Rules.
Cassandra - Queensland is not big on sheep and wheat farming, what it does do is grow fruit and veg in HUGe quantities. Tomatoes, peppers, corn, beans, melons, pumpkins, mangoes, bananas (though these are grown further north than the floods).
Bundaberg, which has been badly hit is famous for its sugar cane (used in making the Bundy Rum)
These are just the crops I came across while I was there - there is bound to be more that will be affected.
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It's not all doom and gloom mind you,all that beautiful water on it's way towards the Murry/Darling River system.
The big worry now is this is the start of the wet season in Northern Australia forward weather forecasts predict about 5 or 6 tropical cyclones this summer season, we just hope things start to dry out before the first one turn up at our door.
Oh yeah,regarding the current flood damage, roads,schools,bridges, rail lines and other government infrastructure think of all the work this will create.
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So in Oz we have floods, droughts, fire and cyclones - whilst significant they are temporary and relatively small(ish) problems compared to trying to find enough workers to keep the place running.
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Cassandra
Do you know the difference between Nationality and Religion?
Maybe that is a good start before you decide to post comments.
Even though I begrudge losing,credit where credit is due to the English cricket side,but try to keep your comments critically constructive and not just cheap digs.
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Cassandra,
He moved to Australia when he was 3 - hardly an import! As Australia is such a mutlicultural country you will find many of us were born in other countries but still call ourselves Australian. Not sure it is even relevant that he is a Muslim...
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Geez ebperth @ 6 I must have hit a sore spot. I certainly did not mean to.
You may not realise but in the UK Nationality and Religion are not necessarily so obviously distinct. That is why, for example, a Catholic or a Muslim can never be the head of state - something which is obviously a bit of an anachronism.
Indeed the issue is complicated in the whole of Euroland. There are many many Euro politicians running around at the moment saying you cannot be European and Muslim. A disgraceful proposition if you ask me.
I certainly hope your cricket team has many more Australian Muslims and Hindus and Buddhists etc. in the future. At the moment you need all the help you can get - however no doubt you will be back and much sooner than I would like.
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Crabbie Cabbie has hit on another unrecognised disaster from this flood.
Once that water hits the murray-darling, all those cotton and rice farms which suck the river system dry and turned the Loddon to salt and the Coorong into acid will be viable again and there wont be any pressure to get rid of them. Sure you can grow cotton and rice, I have no problem with the idea of good crops... but growing them in the desert and using down-river water to keep your sand wet.. now you're being silly.
And on a slightly unrelated personal note - first summer in my living memory I have ever heard anyone say "Hold 'er back, Huey". Admittedly we were trying to pull down and relocate a shed, but in any other summer, we'd have been happy for the cool-off and excuse for a break.
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Hang about,we are getting off track here cricket,religion,catholic and muslims, what the hell has that got to do with the floods in Queensland.
If anyone is interested go to www.couriermail.com.au and as they say in paperland "read all about it"........
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Another sad story to come out of these floods, (have you ever heard Slim Dusty sing "Pub with no Beer" try u-tube) well with our Number 1 highway closed there is drama in the North (heaven forbid there could be riots)
Beer Supplies Hold Strong As Floods Cut Vital Links..
www.townsvillebulletin.com.au
See good old aussie spirit,,, the water is not the problem in this neck of the woods.
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@crabbie There's a good reason why we're getting off track with the cricket. the chef's in the process of smashing bradman's average ashes innings record from 1930!!!
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Despite the recent claim of the mining states of paying more than their fair share of federal taxes (GST in particular) after years of the reverse being the case, Queensland will be dipping into Canberra’s coffers well beyond its current contribution again. This is as it should be.
But when things are back to normal, how long before will Queensland be complaining again?
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Nick
The houses "on stilts" as you call them are known as Queenslanders - they are the old traditional houses built for the hot weather - the air circulation underneath helps keep the house cool. Useful for keeping the floodwaters out, but not the main reason they are built that way.
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Nick as many who have lived here all their lives shall tell you this country is of extremes, long droughts then floods and bush fires are the norm for the country.
We may never see another one like this for another 200+ years but that is the way the place is.
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After the experience of Katrina, it is comforting to see police, often women police, wading unarmed through the flood waters.
It's not clear why they wade given they have rubber duckies, but at least they are unarmed and apparently doing something useful.
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Here we go again Brisbane,it doesn't rain but it pours,we'll never dry out at this rate,strewth ! ! are they webbed feet.
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