The Deputy PM-Treasurer Wayne Swan gave a good speech in Brisbane today on The Story of Budget, in which he included some useful info detailing Queensland’s recovery from the floods and Cyclone Yasi:

The rebuilding process will also be a long one – coal, sugarcane and cotton have a long road in front of them. It’s been encouraging to see some great signs of progress in recent months:

• About 99.5 per cent of homes and businesses of the nearly half a million to lose power have had power restored;
• 6,156 kilometres of state road network recovered (two-thirds of what was damaged);
• 4,298 kilometres of rail network returned to operation (90 per cent of what was damaged);
• 65 of the 89 damaged bridges and culverts restored; and
• All 11 ports that were closed returned to full operation.