Prime Minister did not say Queensland flood victims should be “grateful for government assistance.”

^{By Eiddwen Jeffery}

A manipulated image of Prime Minister Scott Morrison hosting a press conference where he purportedly said Queensland flood victims should be “grateful for government assistance” is false.

Social media users who shared the image also incorrectly claim that Mr Morrison said flood victims were “weaponsing their trauma”.

RMIT FactLab reviewed the original news footage broadcast by the ABC as well as the transcript of the press conference published by the government and found the image was doctored and the quotes fabricated.

The image was taken from the ABC’s televised news coverage of Mr Morrison’s press conference at the Brisbane Cricket Ground (the Gabba) on March 21, 2022.

It was then edited to remove the ABC logo and include a falsified caption that read: ““PM: Flood victims should be grateful for government assistance”, before being posted on social media.

The post was widely shared, with one social media user adding another fabricated quote saying Mr Morrison said flood victims were “weaponising their trauma”. This post also went viral.

ABC Communications used Twitter to confirm the image had been altered.

In the original recording of the press conference, provided to RMIT FactLab by the ABC, Mr Morrison announced a joint partnership with the Queensland state and local governments to deliver a $1.8 billion boost to South East Queensland. 

He mentioned the Queensland floods and noted the “spirit of partnership” between Federal and State governments in responding to the recent natural disaster. In response to an inaudible question from a reporter Mr Morrison said “the politicisation of natural disasters [was] very unfortunate”.