National

New head appointed at disaster recovery agency

By AAP Newswire

Mar 3, 2023

A file photo of Major-General Jake Ellwood — Major General Jake Ellwood has been appointed to head Queensland's reconstruction authority. -AAP Image

Major General Jake Ellwood has been appointed to lead theÂ Queensland Reconstruction Authority after his work co-ordinating the recovery from last year's floods in the southeast.

Hold tight - we’re checking permissions before loading more content

Maj Gen Ellwood will fill a vacancy left by Brendan Moon, who was appointed as the first coordinator-general of the National Emergency Management Agency in September.

The veteran of Kosovo, Timor Leste, Iraq and Afghanistan has been co-ordinating efforts to clean up and rebuild after floods killed 13 people and damaged more than 9000 homes and businesses in early 2022.

He's also previously co-ordinated the Australian Defence Force's response to the Black Summer bushfires in 2019-20.

Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk has welcomed Maj Gen Ellwood's appointment as the reconstruction authority's chief executive officer by a selection panel.

"Major General Ellwood was responsible for co-ordinating one of the biggest recovery operations our state has ever seen following last year's flooding event," she said in a statement on Friday.

"I was aware of Jake's significant achievements when I appointed him as recovery co-ordinator and I welcome his appointment as CEO of the leading reconstruction authority in Australia."

The authority was set up after the devastating 2010-11 season of Queensland floods and Tropical Cyclone Yasi, before being made a permanent agency in 2015.

It has responded to 103 natural disasters since its formation, and was the first state disaster recovery agency to be established.

By AAP Newswire

Australian Associated Press