Foreign Minister Kevin Rudd invited the diplomatic corps
to visit his home state of Queensland to see how well it is recovering from the
terrible January floods. I went with some 70 High Commissioners, Ambassadors and
other diplomats.
Having been up in Brisbane with William Hague shortly
after the floods, it was good to return three months on and see the city looking
fully back to normal. The world’s attention has subsequently moved on to other
natural disasters in Christchurch and Japan. But I’m sure we can all remember
the dramatic images on our TV scenes of floods covering an area the size of
France and Germany combined. Many Queenslanders had their lives disrupted, and
sadly for a small number who lost loved ones life will never be the same
again.
But
now the big focus is on getting back to business. Local officials, including the
impressive, straight talking disaster coordinator, General Mick Slater, briefed
us on how successfully key infrastructure like roads, rail and power, has been
restored. The emergency services and the vast volunteer army of helpers have
clearly done a fantastic job. Now the remarkable growth story of Queensland,
with its massive natural resources, agriculture and growing high tech clusters,
is set to resume. British companies like BG are major investors
there.
Queensland is also keen to get the international and
domestic tourists back. Some of its most popular destinations, like the Gold
Coast, were not even touched by the floods in the first place, and now there is
certainly no reason not to visit. I hope that our visit and the attendant media
coverage, has helped to get across the message that Queensland is very much
“open for business” again. I’m sure I’ll be heading back for a holiday in due
course.