NZ flood relief teams no longer needed

Australian soldiers help in the cleanup of flood-ravaged Queensland. Photo / Supplied

The Queensland state government has declined New Zealand's offer of further assistance in the cleanup of the flood-ravaged state.

A team from the Ministry of Civil Defence and Emergency Management was ready to be deployed to Queensland to replace the team currently doing relief and recovery work there, but they will no longer be required, a Civil Defence spokesman said.

Prime Minister John Key also announced last week up to 60 Fire Service personnel would also be available to help, but the Queensland government said, while they were grateful for the offer, they were coping with their own internal resources, Fire Service national special operations manager Jim Stuart-Black said.

The 15-strong Civil Defence team deployed to Queensland on January 8 will return home on Thursday, ending New Zealand's official involvement in the cleanup effort. However, they remain on standby to help if asked by Australian authorities.

Speaking to NZPA from Brisbane, Civil Defence volunteer team leader Shane Briggs said flood-affected Australians had been very grateful for the New Zealanders' help.

"It's been good to be here and provide the small amount of relief that we've been able to, and to be out in those communities and to see the appreciation and relief on the faces of the people who we've been helping.

"We've been received really well, both from the other services we've been working with and from the communities who see people -- not just from their own state or interstate -- but from New Zealand helping. They're touched that people would come so far out of their way to help them."

Mr Briggs, who has been involved in numerous disaster relief operations, including after the Christchurch earthquake, said he had never seen such devastation.

"The scale is just so big. It's hard to appreciate unless you're here to see how far this goes, how many communities are effected, because it covers a large proportion of the State and into New South Wales and Victoria."

The team was starting to get tired, having been waking up at 5.30am most days and working until around 7pm, but was still in good spirits, Mr Briggs said.

- NZPA