Climate action not swinging Queensland voters, despite 'worst ever' year for disasters

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30-04-2025

It's been a hellish summer for Queenslanders with barely a region left unscathed by extreme weather.
But, even after a season of unprecedented disasters in Queensland, climate action is not top of mind for many voters in some of the hardest-hit regions.
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Tony Accorsini was counting the cost on his pineapple farm at Mutarnee, west of Townsville, in Queensland's north.
"We've probably had 5,000 millimetres of rain since the middle of January," Mr Accorsini said.
"We've got a heap of pineapples washed away, which ended up down at the beach."
Tony Accorsini's pineapple farm received about 5 metres of rain in early 2025.
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ABC North Qld: Chloe Chomicki
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The long-time farmer knew the climate was changing.
"We are affecting it. But what do you do?"
he said.
Other issues would be on his mind when he cast his ballot in Saturday's federal election.
"I think we need to address the employment issues," he said.
"It's very difficult to get people these days to work in the rural sector."
Out west, Winton Mayor Cathy White oversees a shire spanning almost 54,000 square kilometres — an area larger than Denmark.
Cathy White's own property was damaged in flooding rain.
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ABC Western Qld: Peter Quatrocelli
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A month ago, much of the region, including her own property, was soaked by rain that led to record-breaking outback floods.
"There's water out there that's never been seen before in places, so [Winton is] definitely affected, and different parts of the shire have been affected too," Ms White said.
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An illustration of climate change for the Australian Federal Election 2025.
As the election campaign draws to a close, it's safe to say both major parties have been quiet on climate change. While Labor policies have made some progress to decarbonise, the Coalition threatens to scrap or weaken them.
But as her community recovered and repaired, how were residents feeling about climate change?
"It's a loaded question. I think it's a personal opinion,"
she said.
"This could be just part of the cycle, definitely.
"I think overall that we could all look after our planet maybe a little better, and we all want to do that for our future generations."
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Winton is in the Coalition's safest electorate of Maranoa, held by Nationals leader David Littleproud.
Ms White said the cost of living and education, as well as doctor shortages, were bigger priorities than action on climate change for most residents.
"People are just getting through day by day, and I think they're the challenges for us, especially when you live out here," she explained.
But for Tammie Fogarty, climate action would be at the front of her mind when she walked to the ballot box.
Ms Fogarty lost her Gold Coast hinterland home
Tammie Fogarty's Gold Coast hinterland home was destroyed by a tornado on Christmas night 2023.
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Supplied: Tammie Fogarty
)
Fifteen months later, ex-Tropical Cyclone Alfred dumped almost a metre of rain, cutting off her rental home for five days.
Ms Fogarty said she was not hearing enough about climate action from candidates this election.
"We're not getting the support we need during those events," she said.
"
I've lived in the area for over 30 years, and we're getting a lot more severe weather events in the past couple of years.
"
Tammie Fogarty says her vote will be swayed by strong policies on climate change.
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ABC Gold Coast: Mackenzie Colahan
)
John "Gus" Kelly is also living in a rental property since his Holloways Beach home near Cairns was destroyed in the record floods that followed Cyclone Jasper in mid-December 2024.
Mr Kelly knew climate change was serious, but at 73, he was too worried about whether his rental home would be sold from under him.
"I want certainty about housing — I mean certainty, not just bold plans,"
he said.
"I want, somehow, for the political class to take care of the cost of living.
"These things would make my life a little bit easier for my end of days."
John "Gus" Kelly lost his home in 2023 after Cyclone Jasper made landfall.
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ABC Far North Qld: Conor Byrne
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Qld's worst ever season for disasters
2024–25 has seen Queensland experience more natural disasters than ever before.
There have been 17 separate activations for Commonwealth-state Disaster Recovery Funding Arrangements (DRFA) since July 2024 — more than any other time in Queensland's history.
The rainfall at Mutarnee destroyed Ollera Creek Bridge leaving northern centres unable to easily access supplies.
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Supplied: Ergon Energy
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So far this year, 95,000 insurance claims worth $1.2 billion have been lodged, which is comparatively low for the Insurance Council of Australia (ICA).
"Out of the past six years, the previous five have been much higher and, of course, the peak was in 2022 when we had the biggest flood event Australia had endured," ICA chief executive Andrew Hall said.
Tony Accorsini's pineapple crops in north Queensland were not insured because of the cost.
"The only insurance we get is whatever we can get from the government," he said.
At least 424,000 head of livestock, including cattle, sheep and goats were lost in the disaster.
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Supplied: Shane Wendleborne
)
The cost of premiums was also something western Queensland residents would have to contend with in the wake of the most recent floods.
"Insurance is a massive cost to people, and it's gone up," Winton Mayor Cathy White said.
"
No-one likes to go without insurance but, at the end of the day, no-one likes to go without a feed either.
"
Climate change 'in the background'
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The electorates of Maranoa, Moncrieff, Wright, Brisbane, and Griffith were listed by the non-partisan Climate Council as the top five most climate-at-risk electorates in Queensland by 2030.
But when it came to the majority of regional Queensland voters, Kos Samaras from polling company RedBridge Group said climate change was "in the background".
Ms Samaras said voters may already feel their party of choice had it right on climate action.
Seventy per cent of Queensland's federal seats are still retained by the LNP, represented in blue.
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ABC News: Ario Rasouli
)
"If you're a conservative voter in regional Queensland, you're more likely to support the position of the LNP with regards to dealing with climate change,"
he said.
"[But] if you vote for the Greens or Labor, your position will be very different.
"It just aligns with their values in terms of what they think should be happening in the policy space."
The 2025 election explained:
Professor Matt McDonald from the University of Queensland's School of Political Science and International Relations said discussions about climate could be an uncomfortable topic in some parts of rural and regional Queensland.
Matt McDonald says many voters may see climate action as an "indulgence" when times are tough.
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ABC News: Glenn Mullane
)
"If you and the family, and the towns in which you live, are essentially making your livelihood out of livestock or mining, then significant action on climate change sounds like a threat," he said.
"
I think there's a genuine sense of anxiety that climate action potentially equals the end of whole communities of families and their futures.
"
For the Gold Coast's Tammie Fogarty, who was waiting for her home to be rebuilt, climate action was a vote winner.
Tammie Fogarty says she would like to see more action on climate change.
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ABC Gold Coast: Mackenzie Colahan
)
But she also understood why it was not a priority for some.
"During those weather events, I wasn't thinking about political influence, I wasn't thinking about climate change," she said.
"I was just thinking about survival."
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