Abbott visits Queensland flood areas

4 Jan 2012, 3:46 pm   -   Source: AAP
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Mr Abbott pledged to 'light a few fires' under insurers and the federal government to make sure recovery efforts continue. (File: AAP)

Mr Abbott pledged to 'light a few fires' under insurers and the federal government to make sure recovery efforts continue. (File: AAP)

Tony Abbott says there's still a lot of rebuilding to do in the Queensland communities devastated by last year's floods and cyclones.

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Australians shouldn't assume Queensland has recovered from last summer's devastating floods, federal opposition leader Tony Abbott says.

Mr Abbott and the federal member for Wright, Scott Buchholz, have pledged to "light a few fires" under insurers and the federal government to make sure recovery efforts continue.

"It's the responsibility of local and national leaders not to forget what happened here and to remember that while the floods have gone, the work continues," Mr Abbott told reporters in Grantham on Wednesday.

"It's very important that as the anniversary of these floods draws near that Australians don't assume the work is done.

"There's a lot of physical rebuilding still to be done and there's a lot of mental rebuilding still to be done.

"And the mental rebuilding will take a lifetime."

Of the 35 people who died when more than 70 per cent of the state flooded last summer, 17 were from Lockyer Valley communities in the state's south.

Mr Abbott visited Grantham and Gatton this week, where he attended a community morning tea, spoke to transport operators, helped separate red capsicums from green and inspected work being done to rehabilitate farms damaged during the floods.

More than 130 houses in Grantham - which has a population of about 360 - were damaged by the floods. Tuesday marks the one year anniversary since flood waters tore through the Lockyer Valley.

Mr Abbott said he would not be returning to Queensland for anniversary events next week because he "had another schedule".

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