As residents of South-East Queensland and Northern New South Wales make final preparations for the crossing of Tropical Cyclone Alfred, many may be wondering what role climate change is playing in this weather system.
Scientists say a warmer world means fewer but more destructive cyclones, as CSIRO and Bureau of Meteorology forecast in the 2024 State of the Climate report: “Fewer tropical cyclones, but with higher intensity on average, and greater impacts when they occur through higher rain rates and higher sea level.”
The following spokespeople who are in the affected areas are available for media interviews.
To arrange interviews, please contact:
Danielle Veldre +61 0408 972 997 dan.veldre@climatemediacentre.org.au
Impacted farmers
Peter Lake has a beef farm in the Clarence Valley, Northern Rivers, NSW, that was badly flooded in 2022. He’s now busy moving most of his stock in anticipation of Cyclone Alfred. A lot of his infrastructure, such as sheds, isn’t insured because it was too expensive. Location: Clarence Valley, Northern Rivers, NSW
Robert Quirk, sugar cane farmer, has worked on the family farm since he was 15 years old and remembers the cyclone in February 1954 when he was a small child. His 100 hectare farm, on the border between Queensland and NSW, is about five kilometres from the coast. His cane had already been affected by significant rain and the next few days would only make things worse with the climate changing faster than we can adapt.
Location: Tweed Valley, Northern Rivers NSW
Vets
Anthony Benjamin has more than 30 years experience as a veterinarian and lives on a property in the Hinterland of the Gold Coast. Anthony can speak to his personal experience as someone who’s lived in the area since 1987 and is experiencing his first cyclone. His property was flooded in 2022. He can also speak to preparing pets and livestock for storms, and after the storm he can provide advice on how to handle injured wildlife found in the aftermath. He is affiliated with Vets for Climate Action.
Vets for Climate Action can speak to displacement and habitat loss, food and water scarcity, as well as spikes in infectious diseases in the days to weeks after flooding.
Location: Gold Coast, Qld
Health and doctors
Dr David King is a GP living in Brisbane. He is also an academic with knowledge on primary care and public health. He is concerned about the mental health impacts of climate disasters as well as physical health impacts such as an increase in waterborne diseases. He’s also concerned about access to primary care when clinics are flooded, particularly in small towns. He is affiliated with Doctors for Environment Australia.
Location: Brisbane, Qld
Residents
Dr Barry Traill is a zoologist, conservationist and environmental campaigner. He grew up in Victoria and holds a bachelor's degree and PhD in terrestrial ecology from Monash University, Melbourne, Australia. He is the Director of Solutions for Climate Australia and a volunteer firefighter.
Location: Maleny, Sunshine Coast hinterland, Qld
Dave Copeman is the Director of the Queensland Conservation Council.
Dave has been the Director of Queensland Conservation Council since 2021, and loves to push Queensland to be a climate and biodiversity leader, not a laggard. Queensland Conservation Council (QCC) is the leading independent voice for the environment in Queensland and the peak body for Queensland's environmental movement.
Location: Fairfield, Brisbane, Qld
Marie Carvolth lives in Currumbin and lost power on Friday. Her 11-year-old son’s school closed on Thursday but she kept him home from Wednesday. It was meant to be his first soccer game Saturday. Her mother is in hospital and she isn’t allowed to visit because of the cyclone. She says the hospital is on essential power only. She speaks to the compounding stresses of going through a climate disaster like this. Affiliated with Parents for Climate Action.
Location: Brisbane, Qld
Kate Smolders is a mother of two living in Sherwood in the western suburbs of Brisbane. She’s affiliated with Parents for Climate Action. The closure of schools in Brisbane is unprecedented. Kate’s children are high school and primary school aged. Both are at home after their schools shut. The family has never experienced a cyclone and doesn’t know what to expect. Previously their old house in Chelmer was flooded in 2022 and 2011. It was why they sold and moved to Sherwood.
Location: Brisbane, Qld
Resilience groups
Dr Jean Renouf founder and chair of Plan C, academic at Southern Cross University and on-call firefighter. Jean can speak to community response and resilience efforts. Jean runs community training on disaster preparedness and response to extreme weather events such as bushfires, floods and heatwaves.
Location: Lismore, NSW
Surfers
Belinda Baggs is a professional long-boarder and the co-founder and director of Surfers for Climate.
Location: Mclean, NSW
Insurance
Dr Karl Mallon, Founder and Director of Science and Technology, XDI (Cross Dependency Initiative).
Location: Currently in Europe – can do phone and zoom interviews