Prime Minister explains media ban on tour of flooded regions
Prime Minister Scott Morrison made his way to flood affected communities on Wednesday after finally leaving isolation.
His visit to damaged homes and communities in flood-affected areas of northern New South Wales spread across the media.
However, they were banned from accompanying the prime minister out of “respect for the privacy of those I came to speak to”.
“In these disasters, not everybody wants a camera shoved in the face while they’re trying to share their heart with you,” he explained, 7News reported.
“I came down to listen to them and what they are going through and understand what was needed for their primary production business, paint business, all those householders themselves, what was needed to make sure we can get this town back on its feet, and that is assisting me with other matters.
“The primary purpose is to make sure I understand fully what we need to do, and the alignment of what our plans are and our announcements are with the needs here in the community.”
Morrison announced a national emergency for the affected towns as well as promising further assistance.
“The sheer scale and impact to these areas in northern NSW highlights the need for extra support right now,” the Prime Minister said in a statement.
“While people in northern NSW aren’t able to work, are still clearing out their homes and businesses, the extra two lots of $1,000 payments we’re rolling out to eligible families and individuals will give them some certainty as they start to rebuild their lives.
“We can’t underestimate the long term mental health toll so many communities will be facing. As well as the new mental health supports we’re announcing, my government will closely monitor the situation to understand what else people need as they recover from these disasters.
“Resilience NSW and Deputy Commissioner Lanyon and the Queensland Government and Major General Ellwood will work alongside the Federal National Recovery and Resilience Agency (NRRA) to identify the priorities for the longer-term recovery under the Disaster Recovery Funding Arrangements.
“We’ll work closely with the NSW and Queensland Governments to deliver further funding. It’s crises like this that the Emergency Response Fund was established to help support and it will help as part of the initiatives we deliver so communities across NSW and Queensland get back on their feet.”
Image: 7News