<?xml version="1.0" encoding="ISO-8859-1"?> <docID>340136</docID> <postdate>2025-03-12 14:21:57</postdate> <headline>‘Open for business’: tourist pitch in ex-cyclone’s wake</headline> <body><p><img class=" wp-image-340137" src="https://citynews.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/20250311182492370884-original-1.jpg" alt="" width="666" height="444" /></p> <caption>People in southeast Queensland and northern NSW are sorting through waterlogged possessions. (Jono Searle/AAP PHOTOS)</caption> <p class="wire-column__preview__author"><span class="kicker-line">By <b>Savannah Meacham </b>and <b>Rachael Ward</b> in Brisbane</span></p> <p><strong>Tourists are bring urged not to cancel Easter holiday plans as many regions recover from ex-tropical cyclone Alfred's devastating deluge.</strong></p> <p>As sunshine broke through for the first time in days on Wednesday, Queensland's government declared the state was still open for business.</p> <p>The Easter holidays are three weeks away and usually a busy time for the Sunshine State's tourism industry, bringing more than $2.5 billion to the economy last year.</p> <p>Tourism Minister Andrew Powell said the state needed to recover quickly after ex-cyclone Alfred hammered southeast Queensland and northern NSW.</p> <p>"Our message to the rest of Australia and to the world is that Queensland remains open for business," he told parliament on Wednesday.</p> <p>About 80 per cent of the Gold Coast's renowned beaches had "gone into the ocean", local mayor Tom Tate said.</p> <p>The environment department was assessing beaches and would look to replenish them with sand from offshore dredges, Mr Powell said.</p> <p>The former cyclone dumped more than one metre of rain on the Gold Coast hinterland in less than a week.</p> <p>"We know the work is far from over and we are continuing that work," Queensland Premier David Crisafulli told parliament.</p> <p>The severe weather led to 13,150 State Emergency Service jobs over nine days with 3676 calls for help on Monday alone.</p> <p>"That is the most calls ever received in one day," Police Minister Dan Purdie told parliament.</p> <p>The state government has allowed fuel stations, abattoirs and food processing facilities to trade 24/7 for resupply following the disaster.</p> <p>Supermarkets had already been approved to resupply around the clock to restock across southeast Queensland after shelves were stripped bare by panic buying.</p> <p>Meanwhile, personal hardship payments have been expanded for affected parts of Brisbane and the Scenic Rim after previously being activated for the Gold Coast, Logan and Moreton Bay.</p> <p>The recovery effort was ramping up across the region, with many realising the full extent of Alfred's impact.</p> <p>Anthony Lay threw away dripping carpets, mattresses, chairs and a waterlogged drum kit after his Oxley property, south of Brisbane, was inundated.</p> <p>He was overwhelmed by a foul stench seeping out of his possessions as he carried each to the curb for the council to take away.</p> <p>"It's exhausting - 2022 (floods) took a lot out of me, then this one is a little bit more," he told AAP.</p> <p>"Thankfully it didn't get up so high."</p> <p>Brisbane City Council has set up more than 190 temporary waste bin sites across the city where the severe weather has impacted regular kerbside waste collections.</p> <p>More than 50,000 homes and businesses remain without power, down from a peak of 420,000.</p> <p>Students at more than 100 schools across southeast Queensland will also stay home for another day amid damage assessments.</p> <p>No further significant rainfall is forecast for the remainder of the week with some light coastal showers possible, the Bureau of Meteorology says.</p> <p>Several flood warnings have been downgraded but moderate risk remains on the Logan, Richmond, Clarence and Arara rivers spanning Queensland and NSW.</p> <p>In northern NSW, floodwaters are receding but many suburbs remain isolated including Thora, Yamba, Lawrence and Diggers Camp.</p> <p>"NSW SES will have teams in the field to support with clearing roads and undertaking damage assessments," the SES said in a statement.</p> <p>SES crews responded to three flood rescues overnight in NSW after people drove through submerged roads and some required medical treatment.</p> </body>