Ms JENNY AITCHISON (Maitland—Minister for Regional Transport and Roads) (19:24): I acknowledge and commend the outstanding efforts of those who stepped up to support communities following the recent storm events in the Hunter. The storms had a massive impact across the State, the wider Hunter and the Maitland local government area in my electorate, but the community of Woodberry was particularly impacted. I am so grateful we had no loss of life from those incidents in Maitland, and my heart goes out to the family of the person we lost in Cowra. The devastating weather events brought destruction and hardship to many families in Woodberry, yet in the face of adversity the resilience and generosity of their community shone through. They supported their loved ones, checked in on their neighbours and rallied as a community.

Emergency services including the NSW State Emergency Service, Fire and Rescue NSW, NSW Ambulance, NSW Health and the Rural Fire Service all worked together tirelessly to ensure the safety of residents in that first instance. Their prompt responses to fallen trees, damaged homes and flooded streets were instrumental in minimising harm. For the Woodberry community, due to significant damage to energy infrastructure, power was not restored for five days. That meant families had to throw away all their refrigerated and frozen foods, and food security became a major concern for them. Local charities, government organisations and volunteer organisations played a critical role in supporting the community throughout that time. I pay special tribute to Minister Dib, who I had a lot of conversations with, Mal Lanyon from the Reconstruction Authority and Janelle Saffin, the Parliamentary Secretary for Disaster Recovery. They were all helpful convening those meetings around recovery.

On the ground initially were the Rapid Relief Team. They provided hot lunches. The Salvation Army then stepped in to provide ongoing meals. Woodberry Place of Friends, with generous support from Survivor's R Us, brought fresh food. Maitland Sikhs offered their amazing regular free food, including curries and doughnuts. Maitland Region Community Support provided food hampers. Ausgrid providing advice and facilitated claims for food spoilage. Hume Housing and the Red Cross supported residents in housing need. Of course our amazing service clubs also provided support. As the response moved to the recovery phase, I acknowledge the NSW Reconstruction Authority for its lead with the Department of Community and Justice. I thank Minister Jackson for reaching out to me and being available to assist in that space. Maitland Family Support and the Salvation Army offered financial assistance and emotional support. I also acknowledge the assistance provided by Services NSW, Services Australia, Legal Aid NSW and the various insurance agencies.

I also thank the local businesses and residents. Local supermarkets, butchers, pubs and cafes all provided meals. The Woodberry Warriors Football Club put on a community breakfast even while the power was still out. I have attended a lot of these kinds of disasters in recent times and in the last 10 years. I have to say the response that we got from the community this time was so different. Instead of waiting until after the event and going through the whole disaster claiming process, there were hot showers, there was food, there were charging points for people, and there were laundry facilities. That was all really part of that connection with community and being able to hear from residents what the issue was.

I thank my team, particularly my senior electorate officer, Perry Watson, and my chief of staff. They both stepped in and helped get those messages where they needed to go so that we got real action on the ground. I also thank Maitland City Council for its coordinated response. Its work in clearing debris, facilitating the provision of free hot showers, providing additional red bin pickups and keeping the public informed was vital in ensuring a smooth recovery process. I thank general manager Jeff Smith for his work and leadership in the disaster. I thank the councillors and the mayor, who had discussions with us. Even though Councillor Race Barstow did not have power in her own house, I know she was out helping people in her ward.

I thank my State colleagues. I also thank the member for Paterson, Meryl Swanson, and her Federal colleagues, particularly the Minister for Emergency Services, Jenny McAllister. They worked together so rapidly with the State agencies to ensure natural disaster support for the community in its time of need. I also thank all of the residents for their patients. My team has been fantastic in getting out on the ground. We are continuing to meet at Woodberry over the next few fortnights to catch up with people and make sure that everyone is going well. We had quite a few people there on Friday, and I hope to see them all in a fortnight.