Flood and fire-ravaged Oz limps back to productivity

The chaos in the floodravaged Australian state of Queensland has definitely eased, as local residents and businesses continue with the clear-up process. At the height of the worst floods for 50 years ports, railways and roads were closed across large swathes of Queensland, and around 75% of the state – an area larger than France and Germany combined – was declared a disaster zone after a month of extreme rainfall. After being shut for a week, the port of Brisbane reopened on January 17, but operations only returned to normal some days after. But, fairly quickly, freight operators began to get things back to normal, or to use contingency plans to overcome the residual problems. By January 25, our Australia liaison, David Denning, director of Sydney-based Poseidon Freight, was able to inform FTW that the port of Brisbane was working, but experiencing slight delays. “Carriers are still able to deliver/retrieve containers except to areas that have been adversely affected by the flooding,” he added. “Brisbane airport, meantime, is on high ground and has remained open throughout this time.” By the end of last week, Denning was able to update the news from the stricken state. “Not only has Queensland been affected by flooding but so has south/west Victoria,” he told FTW. “Western Australia is experiencing bushfire, so I suppose you could say that we are having a bit of a mixed bag at the moment.” Fortunately for Denning, his company, located in Sydney, had not been affected by the adverse weather conditions. But the cost of the disaster, he added, is going to hit everyone in Australia. “The government will be increasing taxes by 0.5% to assist with the rebuild of Brisbane and outlying regions,” he said. “We are expecting the price of meat, fruit and vegetables to increase, as the majority of these products is sourced from Queensland. “China has commenced purchasing coal from Indonesia due to the delays being experienced at the loading port of Gladstone, thus affecting our commodity prices.” Although an Australian citizen, Denning has close and long-standing links with SA. Poseidon Freight has been specialising in the movement of groupage and FCL cargo between Australia and SA for over 10 years, and he travels to SA every 12-18 months to promote trade between the two countries. And he pointed out that SA is indirectly offering considerable assistance in the aftermath of the floods. “As 10% (2.3-million) of the Australian population is South African, the local SA community in each state is raising funds to assist with the rebuild of the flood-affected areas,” Denning said.