Heavy floods hit Queensland, Australia

THE recovery effort from the floods that have devastated Queensland will now be hampered by the return of rain until early next week.
Heavy thunderstorms hit Rockhampton yesterday morning, just two days after the floodwater peaked in the city, and the weather bureau warned last night that damaging winds, very heavy rain, flash flooding and large hailstones were due to hit the region again.
There were hailstorms yesterday in the other flooded area, at St George in southern Queensland, where authorities are now expecting the Balonne River to peak on the weekend rather than early next week and at a lower level than previously predicted.
The cost of the floods continues to mount and Julia Gillard said yesterday these costs could lead to cuts in government spending if the government were to achieve its aim of balancing the budget in 2012-13.
Assistant Treasurer Bill Shorten yesterday announced the Australian Taxation Office would give flood-affected individuals and businesses extra time to lodge their returns and activity statements or pay their tax debts, without penalties or interest charges.
The ATO also would help those whose tax paperwork had been destroyed by the floods to reconstruct their records or make estimates, and provide other relief for people in hardship.
Estimates of the total cost have varied between $5 billion and $9bn, but with flooding set to continue, the final tally might not be known for some time.
It will be several weeks before Queensland's big coal industry returns to normal, with 40 mines shut and the key port of Dalrymple Bay running at 60 per cent capacity due to supply constraints.
The Prime Minister said yesterday the financial situation facing the government demanded tough choices, but that she was determined to bring the budget back into surplus.
"That does mean that we're going to have to make some tough choices, and we will, to bring the budget back to surplus as well as meeting the needs of Queensland as they recover from this crisis," she said.
The nation's peak business group, the Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry, said the floods were now a national issue. Its chief executive, Peter Anderson, said the agriculture and mining sectors would be hit hard.
The floods continued to attract international attention, with the UN joining the European Community in sending its sympathy to flood victims. UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said he was concerned at "the danger to life and the destruction of property following the ongoing floods."
In central Queensland, heavy rain continued to hamper the rescue effort and delaying the proposed return of residents to the evacuated town of Theodore. The town's business owners attempted to return in a small bus yesterday but were forced to turn back.

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