It is barely five months since the flooding that inundated parts of Brisbane and had such a tragic impact only a couple of hours west of here in Toowoomba and the Lockyer Valley. It is only four months since Cyclone Yasi wrought havoc on some northern coastal communities and flattened key crops.
The people of Brisbane, and of Queensland, have shown their resilience and adaptability in the face of these disasters. The economic effects of those events, and of the Western Australian cyclones over the summer, have been seen at the national level.