Prime Minister Scott Morrison has confirmed a national emergency is not being declared in south-east Queensland, saying he's "not so stubborn" that he refuses to listen when a Premier says it is unnecessary.
Meanwhile, the man coordinating the Australian Defence Force's (ADF) flood response across two states has confirmed 7,000 ADF personnel are now working on clean-up efforts, with help also on the way from overseas.
"We have the Fijians coming through, a US Navy ship (USS Frank Cable) is pulling up and 100 sailors from the US Navy will start working in Brisbane in the coming days," Major General David Thomae said.
On Friday night, Mr Morrison visited the Governor-General to sign a national emergency declaration for flood-affected communities in New South Wales.
A day earlier, he said he would make the declaration for parts of Queensland, even though Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk said it was not needed anymore as the state had entered the recovery phase of the disaster.
Mr Morrison said Ms Palaszczuk had "every opportunity" to write to him to ask for an emergency declaration earlier, but did not do so.
Ms Palaszczuk's office insisted an emergency declaration is a decision for the Commonwealth and does not require the Premier's agreement.
The Prime Minister confirmed on Saturday he was taking heed of Ms Palaszczuk's advice.
"I mean, the way you do this is you consult," Mr Morrison said.
"As you get more data, that better informs your decision. And it also followed my discussion with the Queensland Premier. So, when I say I'm going to consult someone, I mean it. I'm not so stubborn as to not listen.
"When the Premier tells me she doesn't think it's necessary, well, of course, I'm going to listen to that."
Labor leader Anthony Albanese seized upon the Prime Minister's about-face, accusing him of merely trying to talk a big game while touring flood-hit areas.
"The Prime Minister belatedly came and declared that it was a national emergency on Thursday, and that Queensland would be included … one day later, he said it now no longer was a national emergency," he said.
"It's extraordinary that this Prime Minister once again was here for the photo-op and the headline, and then disappeared."
Under legislation, the Prime Minister must consult with the state or territory government where the emergency is occurring before the Governor-General makes a national emergency declaration, though that is not required if the Prime Minister is satisfied that it is not practicable to do so, or if the relevant government has made a request.
Mr Morrison had been in isolation for a week after testing positive for COVID-19, travelling to northern NSW on Wednesday and south-east Queensland on Thursday after finishing his quarantine period.
ADF boosts clean-up effort
Major General Thomae said ADF support is being pulled out of Gympie and Maryborough, which has moved into a recovery stage, and re-allocated to areas of need around Ipswich, Brisbane and Logan.
"As of [Saturday], we will grow to 7,000 [ADF personnel] across the whole of the joint taskforce — about 1,500 here in south-east Queensland, 3,500 in northern NSW and 1,500 on standby in Sydney," he said.
"In south-east Queensland, we continue to support the local government agencies like the Brisbane City Council in conducting debris clearance, route reconnaissance, but really importantly the work of the Royal Australian Navy in the hydrographic survey ships clearing the Brisbane River and the Port of Brisbane.
"In northern NSW, we continue to provide support through food drops, fuel supply into more remote localities, supporting 33 pallets of disaster relief from the Singaporean government into Lismore this afternoon."
Most of the ADF support in south-east Queensland has been drawn from the local Enoggera barracks and RAAF Base Amberley, with hydrographic specialists from Cairns and navy divers from Western Australia.
"In northern New South Wales, where we don't have a large Defence presence, we have literally dragged people from all across the country – Darwin, Townsville, Western Australia, South Australia, Victoria and even Tasmania," Major General Thomae said.
The ADF is also supporting NSW police with air operations, with flights tasked to look for missing people in northern NSW on Friday.
Major General Thomae said aerial surveillance was underway across parts of Sydney, with floodwaters yet to recede, and the images would be provided to the NSW state emergency operations centre.
"Just really grateful for all of the work the communities have done across Australia supporting their own communities, I know it's been a very tough event for many people," he said.
Queensland police deputy commissioner Shane Chelepy also acknowledged community efforts in the state's recovery.
"Over the last week we're starting to see from the ground just how widespread and how big this recovery coordination job's going to be," he said.
"It's at times like this that we see Queenslanders rally and the people … on the ground, they're saying they're getting absolute strangers coming in, digging in knee-deep mud, cleaning up for them – people they've never met before, delivering food to them, delivering cold water to them.
"This isn't a one-week effort, this isn't a two-week effort, this is going to take many months for us to recover."
Deputy Commissioner Chelepy acknowledged the ADF's support, saying the sight of large trucks rolling into impacted streets alongside emergency services was a morale booster.
"People are saying to us, our spirits lift, we know help is here … it's great to hear from the ADF that they'll remain on task and on the ground helping Queenslanders," he said.
