Labor candidate for Riverina Mark Jeffreson came to town this week to survey the damage caused by the storm on Monday the 10th of February. He said, “we came up to Harden, we had been invited up there. I had seen it on the WIN news and it looked pretty bad and I was talking to someone and they said you have no idea, it looks a lot worse than it did on the TV.
“We came up and met some people and it was just extraordinary, it was an extreme weather event.
“I was talking to the Councillor at the post office and she was telling me she was out the back of the post office sorting the mail and then couldn’t get out because the storm was so intense that she couldn’t get back to the main building.
“We had a similar storm in Wagga not with anything like the damage or intensity, but you think gee the roof has come off here, that is just amazing.
“We came on a good day as the supermarket had started trading again, the coffee shops were open, and I understand that the chemist never closed, which is just terrific really, because not being able to get your scripts would be a difficult business for lots of people.
“The Council workers I gather they just started to clean up and they never even stopped. They just kept going and going and going. That was terrific.
“Regional Australia is a pretty tough crowd, we have to put up with a bit, so when things happen we band together and that was very much on show.
“We got around a little bit and people were very happy that we came to say hello, not to come and talk about events that are coming up in the next little while, but just to see how Harden is going. That is essentially what we were there for, just to see what was happening and to make sure the systems for relief were up and running and they were, which is great, and the fact that there was capacity there for farmers and business people to get some support up at the Country Club, some insurance advice, which is pretty valuable around there at the moment; mental health support which is always the great mystery one be-cause you can’t actually see anything, but it is there, and they are able to get that support at the Country Club as well, so it’s pretty good the way everyone is rallying together.”
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