Mr Morrison was also due to visit WA this week but was forced to reschedule after he contracted COVID-19.
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Federal Attorney-General and WA Senator Michaelia Cash was quick to take aim at Mr Albanese’s decision.
“Why are you so quick to criticise others when you think they’re doing something they shouldn’t be doing, but you’re prepared to jump on a plane and at five past midnight, touch down in Western Australia when it’s a beautiful day here?” she said.
“300,000 people in Sydney on top of everybody else have been told to evacuate, 300 schools have been told to close. I think that says a lot about Mr Albanese.”
Mr Albanese’s home suburb of Marrickville has been heavily hit by flash flooding in the past fortnight.
The Labor leader said he had visited flood-impacted communities in Brisbane and Marrickville this week and was in touch with people there regularly.
He said it was too early to discuss how the flood clean-up would be paid for or whether a flood levy, such as the tax introduced after the 2010-2011 Queensland floods, would be required.
“We don’t know, and it’s not appropriate to speculate while the rain is still falling,” he said.
“The biggest cost when you have a flood or a major natural disaster isn’t economic. It’s human. We’re seeing devastating human costs and I want to express my condolences to those people who’ve lost loved ones during this crisis.”
