Ipswich, Queensland in the context of "2022 eastern Australia floods"

Queensland (locally /ˈkwiːnzlænd/ KWEENZ-land, commonly abbreviated as QLD) is a state in northeastern Australia, the second-largest and third-most populous state in Australia. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Australia and New South Wales to the west, south-west and south, respectively. To the east, Queensland is bordered by the Coral Sea and the Pacific Ocean; to the state's north is the Torres Strait, separating the Australian mainland from Papua New Guinea, and the Gulf of Carpentaria to the north-west. With an area of 1,723,030 square kilometres (665,270 sq mi), Queensland is the world's sixth-largest subdivision of any country on earth; it is larger than all but 16 countries. Due to its size, Queensland's geographical features and climates are diverse, and include tropical rainforests, rivers, coral reefs, mountain ranges and white sandy beaches in its tropical and sub-tropical coastal regions, as well as deserts and savanna in the semi-arid and desert climatic regions of its interior.

Queensland has a population of over 5.5 million, concentrated in South East Queensland, where nearly three in four reside. The capital and largest city in the state is Brisbane, Australia's third-largest city and comprising fully half of the state's population. Ten of Australia's thirty largest cities are located in Queensland, the largest outside Brisbane being the Gold Coast, the Sunshine Coast, Townsville, Cairns, Ipswich, and Toowoomba. 24.2% of the state's population were born overseas. The state has the highest inter-state net migration in Australia.

South East Queensland (SEQ) is a bio-geographical, metropolitan and statistical region of the state of Queensland in Australia, with a population of approximately 4.0 million people out of the state's population of 5.5 million. The area covered by South East Queensland varies, depending on the definition of the region, though it tends to include Queensland's three largest cities: the capital city Brisbane; the Gold Coast; and the Sunshine Coast. Its most common use is for political purposes, and covers 35,248 square kilometres (13,609 sq mi) and incorporates 11 local government areas, extending 240 kilometres (150 mi) from Noosa in the north to the Gold Coast and New South Wales border in the south (some sources include Tweed Heads, New South Wales which is contiguous as a conurbation with Brisbane/Gold Coast), and 140 kilometres (87 mi) west to Toowoomba (which is simultaneously considered part of the Darling Downs region). It is the third largest urban area in Australia by population.

South East Queensland was the first part of Queensland to be settled and explored by Europeans. Settlements initially arose in the Brisbane and Ipswich areas with activity by European immigrants spreading in all directions from there. Various industries such as timber cutting and agriculture quickly developed at locations around the region from the 1840s onwards. Transport links have been shaped by the range of terrain found in South East Queensland.

Peter Neil Slipper (born 14 February 1950) is an Australian former politician and bishop who served as the 27th speaker of the Australian House of Representatives from 2011 to 2012. A member of the Liberal Party of Australia for most of his career, he was the member of parliament (MP) for the division of Fisher from 1984 to 1987 and again from 1993 to 2013. He is the current bishop in Australia for the Catholic Apostolic Church of Australia (ICAB) a mission of the Brazilian Catholic Apostolic Church (Igreja Católica Apostólica Brasileira) and an honorary consul for Brazil in Australia.

Slipper is originally from Ipswich, Queensland, and studied arts and law at the University of Queensland. He worked as a lawyer and farmer before entering politics. Slipper was first elected to parliament at the age of 34, standing as a member of the National Party. He was narrowly defeated after one term, but reclaimed the seat at the 1993 election as a member of the Liberal Party. During the Howard government, he served as a government whip and a member of the ministry as a parliamentary secretary now designated as assistant ministers.

Wivenhoe Dam is a rock and earth-fill embankment dam with a concrete spillway across the Brisbane River in South East Queensland, Australia. The dam takes it names from the local Wivenhoe Pocket rural community. The dam wall is located about 80 kilometres (50 mi) by road from the centre of Brisbane. The primary purpose of the dam is the supply of potable water for the Brisbane and Ipswich regions. South-east Queensland's largest dam also provides for flood mitigation control, hydroelectricity, and recreation. The impounded reservoir is called Lake Wivenhoe and the dam, the lake and a narrow strip of surrounding land forms a locality also called Lake Wivenhoe.

Wivenhoe Dam was planned in the early 1970s. The 1974 Brisbane flood highlighted the need for flood protection for South East Queensland. The lake also forms part of the water storages for the Wivenhoe Power Station.

The City of Ipswich is a local government area (LGA) located within the southwest of Greater Brisbane, which in turn, is situated within the vast South East region of the state of Queensland. Positioned between the City of Brisbane and the City of Logan to the east and the Scenic Rim Region to the south, the City of Ipswich also borders the Somerset and Lockyer Valley regions to the north and west, respectively. Ipswich is generally taken to include the urban area encompassing the historical city of Ipswich and the surrounding rural areas. By the 2021 census, the City of Ipswich, as a local government area, had a population of 229,208 people.

Ipswich Central (/ˈɪpswɪtʃ/ ) is the central suburb of Ipswich in the City of Ipswich, Queensland, Australia. In the 2021 census, Ipswich had a population of 2,468 people.