FRUSTRATED Normanton and Karumba residents yesterday vented outrage at being the "forgotten people" while governments continued to focus on natural disasters everywhere but the Gulf.
The flood-ravaged communities have been cut off for nearly six weeks and face another five weeks trapped behind swollen rivers.
Normanton remains a 7km x 10km island in an inland sea and the road to Karumba is a vast watershed stretching as far as the eye can see with most of the Carpentaria Shire’s 68,000sq km still under water.
Kennedy member Bob Katter yesterday held public meetings in the two communities.
Angry residents voiced outrage at the slow response to get supplies to the region when the floods hit and the failure to get non-essential supplies into the region weeks into the disaster.
Mr Katter told residents there was no excuse for the tardy response by government and lashed out at its refusal to treat the region as a disaster area.
"It is just not good enough," he said.
"You guys are just asking for a fair go and you are not getting one tenth of what you deserve."
Carpentaria Acting Mayor Joyce Zahner said yesterday the region felt abandoned by the State and Federal governments.
"We are 2000 people and we are stranded and we are desperate and things are getting bad," she said.
"The people of Victoria have lost lives and it’s terrible but we have lost 100,000 head of cattle and our lives are in limbo."
Normanton butcher Ashley Gallagher said residents and local businesses were frustrated at a failure to adequately re-supply the region.
"Charters Towers and Ingham got help within 24 hours but in five and a half weeks we have only had three planes and two barges," Mr Gallagher said.
"Normanton and Karumba used to get between eight to nine semi-trailers a week, which is about 200 tonnes, and now we are down to about 60 tonnes and it is just not enough."
Normanton Foodworks owner Jeff Short said each week his business was losing up to $4000 because he had no stock but he still had to pay wages and rent.
A Raptis & Son owner Robert Musumeci said the fishing company had been forced to lay off a number of its 30 staff because non-essential items, which are vital to the running of the business, were not getting into town.
Karumba Progress Association secretary Yvonne Tunney said locals were not eligible for any Federal or State government assistance packages.
http://www.cairns.com.au/article/2009/02/17/29055_local-news.html