Opposition Leader Tony Abbott says the "true grit" recovery phase of the flood disaster in Queensland will be the biggest test for state and federal authorities.
Mr Abbott, who has been on Christmas leave, headed to Brisbane on Thursday morning to talk to flood-affected residents and be briefed by officials.
His visit came as Prime Minister Julia Gillard announced more military resources in the effort to deal with Queensland's worst natural disaster.
Praising the professionalism of emergency services personnel - and describing the performance of Queensland Labor Premier Anna Bligh as her "finest hour" - the Liberal leader said the clean-up could take years.
"We are now in the dramatic phase, but what we are going to have is days and weeks and months of the recovery phase," Mr Abbott said.
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"And we'll be going from the adrenalin phase to the true grit phase and that's where it's going to be important to keep up people's spirits." While he would not criticise the effort to date, Mr Abbott said he would be scrutinising the government's efforts in the reconstruction phase.
"Obviously in the weeks and months to come it will be the job of governments to respond in an effective and timely fashion and it will be the job of oppositions to hold them to account," Mr Abbott said.
Visiting Ipswich on Thursday, where floodwaters in the Bremer River were receding, Ms Gillard announced the number of ADF helicopters involved had been boosted to 19 and more military vehicles had been made available to access isolated areas.
One of the key roles for the ADF personnel has been assisting police and emergency services search for bodies in the flood-ravaged Lockyer Valley and conducting rescues.
Fourteen people have been confirmed dead, including one in Brisbane, with 70 people still missing.
"Floodwaters can wash things away but what they can't possibly take away is the spirit of Australia and Queensland that's just on display here," Ms Gillard said.
She said she had heard many stories of hardship and heroism. "It really does just warm my heart, sometimes break my heart, to hear some of the personal stories," Ms Gillard said.
About 15,000 commercial and residential properties have been flooded in 50 suburbs across Brisbane.
The Brisbane River peaked at 4.46 metres at 4am (AEST) on Thursday - a metre below the peak of the 1974 disaster.
In Ipswich, at least 3000 homes were inundated with the Bremer River peaking at 19.5 metres, just below the 20.6 metres recorded in 1974.
Across the state, 70 cities and towns have been affected by flooding, with the towns of Dalby, Chinchilla and Condamine flooded again and the border towns of Goondiwindi and Texas put on flood alert
