Prime Minister Anthony Albanese warns against complacency as TC Alfred’s approach slows

The “erratic movement” of Tropical Cyclone Alfred has delayed the category 2 system’s expected landfall, extending the crucial preparation window but prompting warnings that could make the system more intense.

Wild weather has already lashed hundreds of kilometres of coastline, triggering waves of 12.3 metres on the Gold Coast and causing significant erosion. Heavy falls of up to 184mm have been recorded in the last 24 hours, as authorities warn daily totals could be as high as 400mm in some places in the coming days.

The cyclone is now set to cross the coast around high tide, at around 4am on Saturday - more than 24 hours later than had been forecasted on Wednesday. The Bureau of Meteorology expects the centre will cross the Southern Moreton Bay Islands first, before de-intensifying to a category 1 when it crosses the mainland.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, who will base himself in Canberra to be near the National Situation Room in the days ahead, said the delay was “not all good news” because it could allow the system to further intensify.

“A risk is, of course, that in slowing up that it increases in its … intensity, but at this stage it is still predicted to be category two,” he said on Thursday morning.

NSW Chris Minns, speaking from Lismore, said the cyclone was “behaving… like a completely unwanted house guest”.

“It’s told us it’s going to be late but linger even longer,” he said.

“Unfortunately that means the window for destruction in our community, heavy rains, winds … is longer than we would have otherwise liked.

“As a result, we are going to need the local community, we will be leaning on the local community, this resilient, tough and defiant community to do their bit.”

As of Thursday afternoon, the system was 225 kilometres east of Brisbane, moving west at 8 km/h and officials doubt that pace will increase.

Matthew Collopy from the BoM said forecasters had seen “erratic movement” in the last 24 hours.

“We are closely watching current data... As it approaches the coast, as it moves across the islands and gets into that complicated area, we will see the system do some unusual things and that is the case with many cyclones as they cross the coast,” he said.

The cyclone warning zone remains active from Double Island Point, north of Noosa, to Grafton in northern NSW.

Queensland Premier David Crisafulli said the four challenges of waves, wind, rainfall and flooding were real, but none were “insurmountable”.

“I have every faith in the work that has been done to date. I have every faith in the capability of our team to respond, and I know how great Queenslanders are at recovering after events,” he said.

Modelling shows almost 30,000 properties in Brisbane and the Gold Coast are at risk of storm surge or flooding.

Already 2000 requests for SES assistance have been made in southeast Queensland.

Some supermarkets closed on Thursday. At least 1030 schools in south-east Queensland and more than 240 in northern NSW will remain closed on Friday.

Public transport has been shut down, and elective surgeries have been cancelled.

Meanwhile, Qantas and Jetstar have suspended all flights in and out of Brisbane until Saturday for international routes and Sunday for domestic, while Virgin’s last flight into Brisbane was due to arrive at 4pm on Thursday afternoon.

While the focus for authorities remains preparation for the cyclone to hit, the Federal Government has one eye on the aftermath, with Mr Albanese green-lighting $1 million in recovery grants to every local council affected.

Sixty ADF personnel and 30 high clearance vehicles are pre-positioned to support police and SES volunteers in the recovery phase, and the Government has approved the use of two military search and rescue choppers in the cyclone zone.

Heavy lift helicopters will be stationed in Coffs Harbour and Bundaberg.

Treasurer Jim Chalmers said the damage bill from the cyclone could quickly rack up into the “billions and billions of dollars”.

“This is going to be a very serious weather event,” he said, saying he had spoken to insurance companies about ensuring claim processes were streamlined.

“Don’t be complacent, people cannot be complacent. Do what you need to prepare.”

Gov under fire for stalled system

The Government has come under fire for not having its mobile disaster alert system, promised almost two years ago, up and running – with Mr Albanese saying he wished it was.

Australians in the firing line of cyclone Alfred will instead need to rely on text message warnings from existing state-led services.

The “national messaging system”, which would be able to override phone systems to ensure people receive disaster warnings, was promised by Labor in 2023 to be delivered by the end of last year.

It followed recommendations from a royal commission into natural disaster arrangements, and after concerns were raised in the Lismore floods of 2022 about problems with emergency communication.

Shadow communications minister Melissa McIntosh has accused the Government of having broken its promise, saying it was “unacceptable” it wasn’t online yet.

Mr Albanese said he “would prefer it was ready, but it’s been complex to deliver”.

“You have to be 100 per cent sure that it’s ready to go before eyou turn it on. The current emergency alert system is the one that has been in place for some period of time,” he said.

“It remains effective and it’s the primary messaging system for the high risk weather system.”

Ms McIntosh said the PM’s admission he couldn’t “get the job done on time... is extraordinary”.

“This wasn’t a priority and demonstrates the absolute lack of action to get this vital service running for those in need,” she said.

Election questions still dog PM

Meanwhile, Cyclone Alfred complicates any plans the PM had to call an April12 election this weekend, but Mr Albanese has repeatedly refused to rule it out.

Asked repeatedly about the timing at a press conference on Thursday morning and later on Sky News, Mr Albanese left his options open.

He has until now and April 14 to call an election for no later than May 17, but it was widely expected he would fire the starting gun this weekend for an April 12 election.

Doing so would have avoided delivering a federal budget, and avoids campaigning over the Easter and Anzac Day long weekends.

The PM has already cancelled plans to travel to Perth ahead of this weekend’s WA state election, but when asked repeatedly whether he would heed calls to delay his own, he would not rule it out.

“I’m focused not on votes, I’m focused on lives, I’m focused on Australians,” Mr Albanese told Sky News.

“I’ve been focused on three years for governing. I’ve said the same thing every time I’ve been asked.

“These are questions that have been asked this week, this month, last month, the month before, they have been asked for a period of time.”

To hold an April 12 election he would need to visit the Governor-General by 6pm Monday.

Opposition Leader Peter Dutton said calling it this weekend “would be a mistake”.

“I think the Prime Minister would regret doing so because if, as we were advised, this cyclone does track across the coast, it is going to be causing a lot of damage, there will be a lot of flooding and there’ll be a lot of families and businesses who are really devastated,” he said on Wednesday.

“I think it’s really the occasion for the Prime Minister to be governing, not campaigning. He’s got until May 17, there’s no reason to bring it on early, but we’ll see what he does.”

Mr Albanese has made it clear calling an election is not his priority right now.

“My thoughts are really with the people who are preparing” he said.

Dutton faces heat over fundraiser attendance

Mr Dutton has meanwhile come under fire after it was reported he left Queensland two days earlier for a lavish fundraiser in Sydney as the cyclone approached.

The Australian Financial Review revealed Mr Dutton had attended a fundraiser hosted by billionaire hospitality tycoon Justin Hemmes at his $100 million Vaucluse mansion on Tuesday.

He had held a press conference earlier that day at Queensland’s Emergency Management Centre after receiving a briefing, before he reportedly flew to Sydney for a community event and the fundraiser.

Treasurer Jim Chalmers said he had arrived at the complex for a briefing as Mr Dutton was leaving.

He said reports of Mr Dutton’s ill-timed travel were “very disappointing”.

“That’s for Peter Dutton to explain. I went to that briefing on Tuesday at (the emergency management centre in) Kedron and he was leaving as I was arriving,” Dr Chalmers told 4BC on Thursday morning.

“But I assure all your listeners and I assure you that our focus has been on the disaster. I hope his has been as well, because we all need all shoulders to the wheel. Every level of government, both sides of politics, need to be doing what we can.”

Speaking to 2GB on Thursday morning, Mr Dutton was not asked about the story, but said he “definitely” had been following advice to prepare his property for the looming cyclone.

“We’ve been making sure that everything’s put away, everything’s nailed down, and I guess, you deal with it as best you can,” he said.

“So let’s hope that it peters out – I haven’t had a briefing this morning, but the latest advice is that it continues, as you say, toward the coast.”