LIZ TREVASKIS, HOST: Of course, we've been hearing news of flooding throughout the Victoria Daly over the past 36 hours and now rising river levels across the Barkly region. The evacuation of Kalkarindji, Daguragu, Pigeon Hole and Palumpa has resulted in almost 1000 people being evacuated to Katherine before being bused to Darwin to emergency evacuation centres set up at Marrara and the Darwin Showgrounds. Today the Australian Defence Force, the ADF has gotten involved with those evacuations, flying residents out on a massive C-130 Hercules. I've seen some of the footage of these Hercules at the airstrip in Kalkarindji and it really just brings it home. People waiting under the grey skies with nothing except for the clothes on their back, waiting to get on board one of these massive defence choppers to fly them to safety and really taking them a long, long way from home when they eventually make their way to Darwin. So the ADF getting involved today after a request was made to the Federal Government. Malarndirri McCarthy is the Labor Senator for the NT and I spoke with her a short time ago about the Federal Government's response to the floods.
NT SENATOR MALARNDIRRI MCCARTHY: Yes, we certainly received a request yesterday, Liz, to the Australian Government to provide logistics in regards to the Australian Defence Force assets and we were able to approve yesterday as well the relocation of those residents that you've mentioned as part of the emergency evacuation.
TREVASKIS: This is just a devastating situation for those communities displaced, sent far, far away from home to be safe and dry. Some anger already, though. Yesterday ABC News spoke with the mayor of the Vic Daly Regional Council, Brian Pedwell, who's been critical of the response from the Territory and federal governments. Here's some of what he said.
MAYOR PEDWELL: People are calling out for help everywhere. I'm calling everyone, where's our help where's our response, where's the emergency service. Stressful. Angry. Disappointed. Yeah, all of the above... it's terrifying, the roar of the river and how quick it comes, it's terrifying. And we've been stuck at Yarralin for a month and, you know, just a little island. So I know what it feels like to be stuck and isolated with little or no help. So yeah, I know what it's like.
TREVASKIS: So that's Brian Pedwell there. He's the mayor of the Vic Daly Regional Council. In part of that interview he highlighted that the council's actually been lobbying for increased flood safety measures for years. So just a couple of things to pick up on there. Senator, Do you think the ADF could have been mobilised any any sooner?
MCCARTHY: Well, firstly, can I just make a comment in regards to Mayor Pedwell, who is an absolutely strong advocate for the residents in the Big Daly region, and obviously quite distressed in that interview as well. I have spoken with Mayor Pedwell and just to check in on him and his family, I know that he's still wanting to see his mother and aunties and grannies relocated from Yarralin and he's raised with me that there's an issue with power cards and Telstra in just in Yarralin . They've got no access to power cards out there and these are the things they'll get on to and have a check as well to see what's going on with Telstra. But in terms of the ADF, I know that that was a request that he did put in straight away yesterday and the ADF did come. So I think in terms of asking for it, I know that he received it. But I guess what we also discussed when I spoke with Mayor Pedwell was I talked to him about the Timber Creek situation when the flooding occurred then and alerted certainly the Territory Government where I could on the information I was receiving. And it's important that whilst we get through a crisis, there's also an opportunity to debrief. And Mayor Pedwell felt that there wasn't that opportunity to debrief after the Timber Creek situation. And clearly that's added to the distress that he's feeling now and others.
TREVASKIS: One of the concerns is that they've been calling for increased flood safety measures for years. We've got to wait for the water to recede and the dust to settle, I guess. But how critical is it that flood safety measures for remote communities who already struggle with very poor infrastructure and you've just talked about Telstra and the power cards in Yarralin. Flood safety measures into the future, how important is this to get on top of it?
MCCARTHY: Well, it is important, very important as we're starting to see with the way the weather patterns are changing. I know a lot of the families and elders from that region have never seen what they've witnessed in the last 24, 48 hours with the way the water has risen so dramatically there. And people who've lived in Kalkarindji for decades have never seen that. So it's clearly saying, even from locals who see first hand, that the weather patterns are changing quite significantly. Now, before we got into government leads, we certainly talked about wanting to improve you know, with cyclone shelters and opportunities, I went out to Pigeon Hole a number of years ago where the families there showed me where they needed to go to be able to escape the conditions of the river. And so Mayor Pedwell is right in terms of the lobbying that's been done. I know with the work that Minister Murray Watt's doing that we want to keep concentrating now with what we can do to assist. But I also understand that the Northern Territory Government also has its plans and its responsibilities as well.
TREVASKIS: Do you think the Federal Government needs to play a really significant role in those kind of emergency planning? I mean, we know the kind of conditions that people already live in remote communities and the budget is pretty stretched when it comes to the Northern Territory Government. Are the federal government going to need to step in here when it comes to future flood mitigation and emergency preparation for those communities? I mean, flooding is only going to increase with the effects of climate change.
MCCARTHY: Well, the federal government is involved because we have to bring in the ADF and it's us who gave that approval and Minister Watt who sought that approval yesterday. So we are automatically involved, I guess, to answer your question. It's clearly more a case now of planning and what do we do going forward and defining those plans in a way that really do focus specifically on the calls by locals and people who live in the regional and remote areas and know these know this country.
TREVASKIS: As I said, many people, people misplaced and now a long, long way from home. Will the federal government be offering flood assistance payments? You know, the likes of which we've seen when they've been these kind of devastating floods interstate?
MCCARTHY: Well, we're clearly right there involved in terms of what's going on with the big Daly region. And we want to make sure that those families are safe and that they can continue in the next couple of days and weeks to recover okay. And I can certainly say to them that I'll be making sure and I'm sure Marion Scrymgour will be as well as the local member, that they are getting the support that's required. And in terms of those specific questions around receiving moneys. Well, of course they're further conversations we'll be having with our colleagues who handle that.