Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has repeatedly refused to rule out calling the federal election this weekend when millions of Australians will be cleaning up damage from a horror tropical cyclone.
In an exclusive interview with Sky News Australia’s Chief News Anchor Kieran Gilbert, Mr Albanese was grilled about the date of the election, but despite several direct questions he declined to give Australians any guarantee.
Mr Albanese said he was “not focused on votes… I’m focused on lives” but stopped short of promising those dealing with the fallout of the monster storm that they would not be thrust into an election campaign.
Gilbert put it to the Prime Minister that it would be “tin-eared” to call the election on the Sunday, referencing criticism by Opposition Leader Peter Dutton who has maintained the focus should be on disaster recovery.
WATCH THE FULL INTERVIEW
Mr Albanese said while he was “not focused on votes… I’m focused on lives”, he stopped short of guaranteeing that an election date will not be called while the east coast prepares for the onslaught of the cyclone.
“You’re not going to call a political campaign in the face of natural disaster?” Gilbert pressed.
The PM responded: “These are questions that have been asked this week, this month, last month, they have been asked for a long period of time.
“This is a reason why we need four year fixed terms to provide certainty.”
As Queensland and Northern New South Wales residents prepare for the looming threat of Tropical Cyclone Alfred over the coming days, Sky News Weather brings you a special report on what to expect, which locations will be hit hardest and a detailed explainer on how cyclones work. Watch ‘Prepare for Impact: Tropical Cyclone Alfred’ now.
Energex warns Brisbane residents of hoax text message
Energex has released a crucial warning for Brisbane residents to beware of a hoax text message being sent around regarding power outages before Tropical Cyclone Alfred makes landfall.
“There’s a fake/hoax text doing the rounds saying ‘someone’s neighbour’ knows someone in Energex who told them the power will be cut ahead of the cyclone hitting,” an Energex spokesman said.
“THIS IS NOT TRUE! Energex WILL NOT be turning power off before the cyclone makes landfall.”
Energex further advised customers to refer to the company’s website or trusted news sources for “correct information”.
When and where will the cyclone hit?
Sky News meterologist Marina Neuman said the rate at which the cyclone is moving had dramatically slowed and is now forecast to make landfall later than initially expected.
“The slow-moving storm is expected to cross the QLD coast late Friday or early Saturday, most likely making landfall between Maroochydore and Coolangatta,” Neuman told SkyNews.com.au.
“And while the system remains nearly 300km off the coast of Brisbane, the far western edge of the storm has already begun impacting the coast between Coolangatta and Ballina, leading to increasing threat of continued coastal erosion as the system looms.”
Neuman said the delay will “allow for continued large and powerful waves to coincide with abnormally high tides, battering the northern NSW coast” with the conditions having the potential to cause severe beach erosion on those coastlines.
“There is a possibility that dangerously high tides could cause further coastal erosion and some inundation of low-lying areas near exposed beaches on the Tweed Coast including to the NSW/Qld border overnight Thursday into early Friday morning,” she said.
PM warns weather system slowing could lead to intensifying storm
The PM stressed the weather system slowing from 14km/h to 7km/h as it heads for the coast “is not cause for celebration or complacency” and could lead to it intensifying.
“That doesn’t mean there’s less of a threat,” he said.
“It’s a cause for there being more time to prepare, the schools are closed in southeast Queensland and northern NSW, and the defence force has been mobilised.
PM says people have ‘right to be concerned’
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese told Sky News Chief Political Anchor Kieran Gilbert people had a “right to be concerned” ahead of one of the worst storm in decades.
Mr Albanese said emergency services were being mobilised to help communities across the eastern seaboard in the leadup to the tropical cyclone.
The Prime Minister said people would be “really conscious” of the threat the cyclone poses due to recent flooding events throughout the region.
‘There are no political parties’: PM
Mr Albanese said federal, state and local government’s are well-prepared for the impacts of the tropical cyclone, adding “there are no political parties”.
“This is a very serious situation,” he said.
“The cyclone doesn’t recognise borders and nor should governments.”
Albanese pressed on election timing amid Tropical Cyclone Alfred
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has refused to rule out that he will not call an election as millions of residents across south-east Queensland and northern New South Wales grapple with Tropical Cyclone Alfred.
In an interview with Sky News Australia’s Chief News Anchor Kieran Gilbert on Thursday morning, Mr Albanese was repeatedly asked whether he would not pull the election trigger amid the looming natural disaster.
Mr Albanese said while he was “not focused on votes… I’m focused on lives”, he stopped short of guaranteeing that an election date will not be called while the east coast prepares for the onslaught of the cyclone.
Alfred impact ‘increasing’ as high tides exacerbate flooding risk
The impacts Tropical Cyclone Alfred will have on southeastern Queensland and northeastern New South Wales communities are “increasing”, according to the latest Bureau of Meteorology update Thursday morning.
The Tropical Cyclone, which is set to cross the coast later than expected, some time late Friday or early Saturday, will bring sustained winds of 95km/h and gusts of up to 130km/h.
The edge of the weather system, which decreased in speed to 7km/h, has begun impacting the coast between Coolangatta and Ballina early on Thursday.
The major storm is expected to maintain its intensity, with the centre of Alfred to cross the coast on Friday between Maroochydore and Coolangatta.
The BOM warned the tides will likely rise significantly above the highest tide mark with damaging waves and “dangerous inundation” threatening coastal low-lying areas, comprising of some 20,000 Brisbane homes, 6,000 Gold Coast homes, and 4,600 on the Sunshine Coast at risk of inundation.
TC Alfred now 285km off Qld coast, Chalmers warns of ‘billions of dollars in damage’
Treasurer Jim Chalmers has warned the government is “preparing for the worst” as Tropical Cyclone Alfred continues to crawl towards the southeastern Queensland Coast, with the natural disaster expected to cause “billions of dollars” of damage.
Alfred is set to cross the coast between Brisbane and the Gold Coast sometime late Friday or early Saturday and will bring potentially destructive wind gusts of up to 155km/h.
The cyclone is lingering in the Coral Sea longer than anticipated. It was previously expected to make landfall late Thursday or early Friday morning.
The weather system is estimated to be about 285 kilometres east of Brisbane and 260 kilometres east northeast of the Gold Coast as of 8am AEDT (7am AEST) on Thursday.
“It’s an anxious wait as we wait for the cyclone to cross over,” Mr Chalmers told Sky News on Thursday morning.
“”There’s something like 4.5 million people potentially in harm’s way, that’s about 1.8 million homes and we’re expecting billions of dollars of damage.”
Hundreds of schools to remain closed across Qld and NSW
More than 660 state schools in southeast Queensland have been closed down as of Thursday.
Premier David Crisafulli announced on Wednesday morning that there would be 663 school closures as the state buckles down for the onslaught of the cyclone.
The schools will only reopen when it is safe for students to attend.
More than 280 schools are also closed across northern New South Wales, with the top end of the state preparing for intense rainfall and dangerous flash flooding.
A full list of Queensland school closures can be found here.
NSW school closures can be found here.
Qld Premier David Crisafulli’s final warning to residents: ‘Take it seriously’
Mr Crisafulli said he had been informed minutes before fronting the media that the cyclone could continue into Saturday morning, but that experts cannot be certain exactly where and when it will hit the east coast.
“What is critical for people to understand across the large scale that we’re dealing with is you will experience (either) waves, wind, rainfall and/or flooding,” the premier said in Thursday’s update.
“It’s important that Queenslanders prepare for that.”
“With every hour that approaches your window to get prepared closes, but you still do have time.
“Take it seriously.”
The premier stressed that if the weather system crosses the coast during a high tide, storm surge flooding is a serious concern.
Flash flooding and river flooding, which residents of southeast Queensland are familiar with, is also a concern as heavy rainfall is expected.
NSW Premier Minns says Alfred is a ‘completely unwanted house guest’
In a light-hearted moment during a serious press conference on Thursday, New South wales Premier Chris Minns said Tropical Cyclone Alfred was behaving like a “completely unwanted house guest”.
“It’s told us it’s going to be late, but linger even longer,” he said.
Mr Minns said the window for destruction, caused by abnormally high tides, heavy rain and violent winds, was going to be longer than first expected.
The Premier called on communities in the north-eastern region of the state to prepare their homes, to not drive through water, to listen out for updates, and to “do their bit”.
SES acting chief Superintendent Stuart Fisher said Alfred’s delay had gifted communities an extra day to prepare.
However, Thursday was the “last day” for people to make final preparations.”I cannot stress enough, that this is a significant weather event.
It is not like 2022 where we had a single event, we’ve had beach erosion and very strong to destructive winds over the next 24-48 hours followed by the torrential rain,” he said.
Nationals MP Kevin Hogan urged people to prepare their properties or, if they were thinking of evacuating from their home, to “leave it now”.
“We don’t know exactly where these in excess of 700mm falls are going to be, but they are going to happen,” Mr Hogan said.
“You have to prepare for that. So prepare for the worst. We’re all hoping and praying for the best but you have to prepare for the worst.
“It’s going to be as bad as we’ve ever seen so you have to take precautions.”
