Pete Norman, Sky News Online
Floods that have devastated huge areas of Australia's eastern coastline will be the costliest natural disaster in the country's history, according to a government minister.
Treasurer Wayne Swan has claimed the deluge last week in Queensland and overnight in Victoria, where 46 townships have been affected, will prompt spending cuts.
"It looks like this is possibly going to be, in economic terms, the largest natural disaster in our history," he said.
"This is very big. It's not just something which is going to occupy our time for the next few months - it will be a question of years as we go through the rebuilding." Read More
