Paul Garvey, in The Australian Newpaper, 11 January 2023, where the title is “Road trains navigate inland sea to deliver vital supplies”
Extraordinary steps are being taken to ensure food and medical supplies make it into the communities cut off by floodwaters across Western Australia’s Kimberley region. Road trains have been photographed seemingly being driven over water as they made their way towards Broome with crucial food supplies.
The portion of the Great Northern Highway south of Broome remains underwater, but road trains have been given special clearance to make the journey.
A barge has delivered trailer loads of food into Broome, with some of them set to be sent on by sea to Derby, while Chinook helicopters and cargo planes sent by Defence have also been ferrying supplies around the region.
The WA government has been subsidising freight costs, which have ballooned since the flooding.
Water levels are receding across the Kimberley, although the region now faces a protracted clean-up effort. WA Housing and acting Transport Minister John Carey visited the Kimberley on Wednesday, warning that there was no quick way to repair homes and restore infrastructure.
