As locals look to start the cleanup after days of heavy rain and flooding, calls are growing to better rebuild our roads.
Leader of the Opposition David Crisafulli toured flood affected areas of Mackay after record-breaking rain hit the region.
Mr Crisafulli says as attention now turned to recovery, future flood resilience should be the priority.
“Road access is the lifeblood of this community and every time it rains, the people of Mackay are cut off from food, medicine and other supplies for days at a time,” Mr Crisafulli says.
“In 2023, the people of Mackay should not be at the mercy for days on end of a single access road in and out of their community.
“In the aftermath of this flooding, where there has been damage to infrastructure including the Bruce Highway, we need to upgrade to a more resilient standard.
“We can’t keep rebuilding to the same standard and expect a different result. We’ve got to build back better.”
Whitsunday MP Amanda Camm, joined Mr Cruisfulli on the tour and praised locals on their strength through this flooding event.
“This weather comes on the back of a tough year but our community has come together to support stranded visitors and locals. We thank our hardworking volunteers for their efforts to help our most vulnerable community members,” Ms Camm says.
“What our community needs now is action. We have a number of road projects that have funding that are stalled in the planning phase and have not been delivered. Queenslanders deserve better.”