Tasmanians know full well the devastating impact of extreme weather events, and we are now stepping up to help Queensland recover in the wake of Cyclone Debbie.
Today we have deployed 18 Tasmanians to Mackay and then onto Proserpine and Bowen to assist people, families and communities with their immediate and mid-term cyclone and flood recovery needs.
This deployment is in addition to a Taskforce of three personnel dispatched 12 days ago which provided incident management expertise in logistics, planning and operations support.
Last year we faced our own challenges with severe flooding events devastating parts of the state, and hundreds of wildfires requiring an extraordinary response from our emergency services personnel, including support from interstate.
The Tasmanian Government has signed an MoU with the Queensland Government to provide the personnel to assist people, families and communities with emotional support, material aid and to assist with grant applications.
And we remain willing to assist further with recovery efforts if required.
Our thoughts go to the Queensland communities affected by the disaster. I again thank our State Service personnel for what they do at home throughout the year, and for what they are now doing away from home to support the people of Queensland.