Queensland’s disaster response and recovery boss took a holiday as millions of devastated residents braced for the impact of ex-Cyclone Alfred.
Inspector-General of Emergency Management Alistair Dawson, who’s on $356,000 a year, took leave from Sunday as winds, heavy rain and flash flooding wreaked havoc across the state.
It’s understood Emergency Services Minister Daniel Purdie approved Mr Dawson’s leave before the cyclone formed and didn’t request him to cancel.
In the lead-up to Alfred’s arrival, Mr Dawson attended the Queensland Disaster Management Committee meetings, the Courier Mail reported.
However, he was notably absent when millions of residents woke to chaos.
The cyclone was downgraded to a tropical low on Saturday morning, but residents along the northern NSW coast and southeast Queensland faced torrential rain, flash flooding and loss of power.
Mr Dawson was re-appointed to his role in March, after he was appointed to the position in 2020 by former Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk.
The Emergency Management body is responsible for monitoring government agencies’ response to and recovery from disasters, and issues a review with recommendations for improvements.
Mr Dawson will not author the review in regard to ex-Cyclone Alfred, with an acting inspector-general to prepare the report instead.
Sources told the Courier Mail that Mr Dawson took his annual leave and left , but his office refused to share where he went.
Daily Mail has contacted the Office of the Inspector-General Emergency Management for comment.
Ex-Tropical Cyclone Alfred made landfall on Saturday at 9pm (Queensland time).
Queensland’s state-owned energy giant Energex said 410,000 of the 450,000 homes that lost power during Alfred have been reconnected.
Damage reports are still coming in, as evacuated residents gradually return home after a long week rescues and record rainfall.