Queensland Premier Anna Bligh says last year’s floods disaster has been one of her biggest tests.
Ms Bligh, who entered Queensland politics in 1998 and became premier in 2007, visited Toowoomba, in the state’s south, on Monday to mark the first anniversary of what she describes as “Queensland’s darkest days”.
“I don’t think there’s any doubt that the disasters of 2011 were one of the greatest tests for our state,” she told reporters.
“It tested us as individuals; it tested us as families and communities.
“And it tested the leadership: it tested the mayors and councils.
“It tested me as premier and it tested all levels of government.”
Asked whether she had passed the test, Ms Bligh said that was for others to decide.
She declined to answer questions about the upcoming state election, which is expected to be called in March.
“This week, I think, is a time to remember what we’ve been through,” she said.
“It’s a time to let those families who lost people mourn and to pay due respect.”
Of the 35 people who died when more than 70 per cent of the state was flooded last summer, 22 died in the state’s southeast. Three people remain missing.
Ms Bligh will unveil a memorial in Toowoomba on Monday, before visiting the Lockyer Valley on Tuesday, Ipswich on Wednesday and Brisbane on Thursday.