IT was a small sentence but it caused lots of grief to a lot people west of the Great Dividing Range when it was uttered by Queensland’s new premier last Thursday.
“It is important that all Queenslanders brace themselves for heavy rains as tropical cyclone Marcia develops,” is what Annastacia Palaszczuk said.
The words came days after Ms Palaszczuk’s jubilant election night speech when she vowed to continue to listen to Queenslanders and to unite the state.
“I want to bring Queensland back together,” she said at the time.
“So now we know what ‘consulting with/listening to all Queenslanders’ will mean,” was the immediate reaction of one Blackall grazier.
“I heard her say this and thought that Queensland must end at the Dividing Range.”
Prairie mum and grazier Sharon Jonsson was more direct: “ALL Queensland??? Hello sunshine. Qld does exist outside the SE corner and eastern seaboard. I’d LOVE to be bracing myself for heavy rain. I fear for the rest of her term if that’s what she’s going to be like.”
The call for all Queenslanders to prepare for heavy rain prompted many other scathing comments on social media from throughout the west, north west and far northern parts of the state, none of whom were anywhere near the path of the oncoming storm and many of whom were staring at dry, dusty paddocks.
“WQ not part of Qld?” was the immediate Twitter response from the bush. “Or NQ,” was next.
“Already bracing for the non-event,” one Longreach grazier replied.
Others offered to send a map of Queensland, while indignant Rockhampton residents thought the rest of the premier’s message after her Thursday afternoon briefing at the state’s disaster management centre at Kedron concentrated too much on the state’s south east corner.
“No mention that there is more to a cyclone than heavy rain in the south east,” were the words of one.
“All media last night were more concerned about Brisbane and Bundaberg flooding. Nothing mentioned about 200,000 people in the path of a category 5 cyclone!”
Sally Cripps
Journalist
Journalist
