Prime Minister Julia Gillard (Photo by Bradley Kanaris/Getty Images)
Jan 14, 2011 (KATAKAMI / SBS.COM.AU) — The number of defence force personnel involved in the Queensland flood operation will be doubled to 1200, Prime Minister Julia Gillard says.
“This will be the biggest deployment for a natural disaster since Cyclone Tracy,” Ms Gillard said at Amberley air base west of Brisbane on Friday.
Ms Gillard said, after talks with Defence Minister Stephen Smith and military chiefs, “Now is the right time to dramatically increase the number of defence personnel who are working in Queensland to assist with the Queensland floods.”
The prime minister on Friday spoke with ADF personnel at the air base, ahead of a visit to the flood-ravaged Lockyer Valley west of Brisbane.
“It’s so important at this time that townships that have been isolated can still get vital supplies,” she said. (*)
