Published Friday, 08 December, 2006 at 02:15 PM
JOINT STATEMENT
Premier and Minister for Trade
The Honourable Peter Beattie
Minister for Public Works, Housing and Information and Communication Technology
The Honourable Robert Schwarten
QBUILD FINE TUNES ITS CYCLONE RESPONSE
The QBuild disaster management service to Queensland communities affected by cyclones will be upgraded Premier Beattie Peter said today.
The Premier and Minister for Public Works, Housing and Information and Communication Technology Robert Schwarten jointly announced the upgrade at the 2006 Cyclone Summit Living with cyclones – Queensland prepared being hosted by Peter Beattie at James Cook University in Cairns.
Mr Beattie said QBuild assessed damage and repaired or reconstructed damaged public assets, such as schools, police stations and courthouses after major events such as cyclones.
“Many valuable lessons have been learned and acted upon by QBuild since Cyclone Larry hit in March this year,” Mr Beattie said.
“As a result QBuild is preparing to put a number of key measures into place at its 11 regional offices. While QBuild had an excellent record with Cyclone Larry, opening 156 damaged schools just eight days after the cyclone, further improvements can always be made.”
Mr Schwarten said QBuild had worked with other representatives of the Queensland Disaster Management System to review its strategies for dealing with future events.
“For example, resources and an experienced management team will now be moved directly into the disaster area as soon as it’s safe to do so,” Mr Schwarten said.
“This means we will have a highly-experienced team on the ground planning and delivering goods and services for the immediate situation, as well as for the longer term recovery of the affected community.
“In another important move, all northern centres will have existing stockpiles of temporary building repair materials, such as tarpaulins, increased to assist with the initial emergency response.”
Mr Schwarten said other areas for further improvement included even better staff training schemes, a central register of building contractors, and contingency plans to replace local QBuild workers affected by the disaster with staff from other regions.
Media inquiries: Premier’s office 3224 4500
Mr Schwarten’s office 3237 1184
8 December 2006
The Premier and Minister for Public Works, Housing and Information and Communication Technology Robert Schwarten jointly announced the upgrade at the 2006 Cyclone Summit Living with cyclones – Queensland prepared being hosted by Peter Beattie at James Cook University in Cairns.
Mr Beattie said QBuild assessed damage and repaired or reconstructed damaged public assets, such as schools, police stations and courthouses after major events such as cyclones.
“Many valuable lessons have been learned and acted upon by QBuild since Cyclone Larry hit in March this year,” Mr Beattie said.
“As a result QBuild is preparing to put a number of key measures into place at its 11 regional offices. While QBuild had an excellent record with Cyclone Larry, opening 156 damaged schools just eight days after the cyclone, further improvements can always be made.”
Mr Schwarten said QBuild had worked with other representatives of the Queensland Disaster Management System to review its strategies for dealing with future events.
“For example, resources and an experienced management team will now be moved directly into the disaster area as soon as it’s safe to do so,” Mr Schwarten said.
“This means we will have a highly-experienced team on the ground planning and delivering goods and services for the immediate situation, as well as for the longer term recovery of the affected community.
“In another important move, all northern centres will have existing stockpiles of temporary building repair materials, such as tarpaulins, increased to assist with the initial emergency response.”
Mr Schwarten said other areas for further improvement included even better staff training schemes, a central register of building contractors, and contingency plans to replace local QBuild workers affected by the disaster with staff from other regions.
Media inquiries: Premier’s office 3224 4500
Mr Schwarten’s office 3237 1184
8 December 2006