Mr ABBOTT (Leader of the Opposition) (2:03 PM) —My question is to the Prime Minister. I remind the Prime Minister that after Cyclone Larry the government made available concessional loans of up to half a million dollars for storm affected businesses to help them to recover and to continue to employ their staff. I ask: has the government considered increasing the maximum concessional loan to this amount?

Ms GILLARD (Prime Minister) —I thank the Leader of the Opposition for his question. Following the cyclone, I talked to people as best I could on what was a difficult day of weather so that we could not get as far as we would have liked to on our journey in the helicopter. Even on the occasions when I was out on the ground, it was raised with me that there were other forms of assistance following Cyclone Larry. They were some special forms of assistance for the banana industry and there were other producers in the region including those who produce exotic fruits—lychees and those kinds of things—that raised questions of special assistance with me.

The answer to the Leader of the Opposition’s question is that we have at this stage, working with the Queensland government, triggered the Natural Disaster Relief and Recovery Arrangements, which include concessional loans of up to $250,000 for small businesses and primary producers. It also triggers other forms of assistance for small businesses and primary producers including clean-up money. It also triggers, and we have triggered, the ability to use income support recovery payments so that people who cannot ply their ordinary trade and go to work or small businesses or farmers who cannot get their ordinary income because of the disaster are entitled to some payments.

The government believes it will have to work with the Queensland government and the local community on a package that recognises the special characteristics of this region hit by the cyclone. We have commenced some of those discussions with the Queensland government. Their ability to consult communities on how this should be best done has been constrained just by the physical logistics of (1) bad weather (2) a lot of damage and (3) turning their efforts first to the provision of food, water, shelter and trying to open up blocked transport routes so that supplies can continue to get through. But as the efforts move from that immediate humanitarian work we will do the consultations necessary with Queensland and with the local community to see how we can best structure future arrangements to meet the special needs of this region.