2011 Flood Summary
27th. January 2012
Updated from our article 27th. January 2011
The disastrous flood of 2011 in Brisbane Queensland that includes the multi billion dollar flood damage to Brisbane properties has caused so much pain, suffering and loss to many, including the working poor who Premier Bligh will means test to salvation, was of almost "Biblical proportions" said Peter Beattie.
Blame God! said Beattie. If there is a relevance in this area why not blame the Devil? But of course there is no relevance.
Beattie's statement must surely be the mother of all blame diversions. So profound is Beatties statement it boarders on blasphemy, highlighted by the fact that his utterings on misinformation is unforgiving. It is typically political, especially when Beattie is one of those involved and who is a person who could evaluate the evidence that largely suggests the recent Brisbane flood was man made by a litany of Labor political decisions with an intensity of incompetence that boarders on negligence!
The foundation for this disaster was laid in 1990 by Wayne Goss when he cancelled the construction of the proposed Wolfdene Dam that was almost ready for construction by the Bjelke-Peterson government.
In 2011 after this flood disaster, Wayne Goss is the number one person of interest in unravelling this catastrophe! What vision did he apply as an alternative engineering principles to the construction of the dam and what other applicable technical principles did he consider in his decision cancel the construction.
The Wolfdene dam was proposed by Bjelke-Peterson and his advisers as an integral component of the 60%-40% flood retardation / water usable supply of the Wivenhoe dam. Goss's action now appears totally unjustified.
Why did he do it?
He must be asked under oath at the pending inquiry to explain why.
It has not gone without notice that both Goss and Hammell are back! Why? At the same time Kevin Rudd was a chief staffer to Goss and David Hammell was in his cabinet.
The number two person of extreme interest is Peter Beattie. Wow, what a guy! He couldn't comprehend the history of weather, even the basics of when you have a drought the next major event would be a flood.
Jim Soorley the former Brisbane Mayor could see it, while Beattie chose not to. Soorley commissioned a report in 2003 that led his council to plan for a two stage upgrade of the Wivenhoe dam to insure Brisbane against further flooding.
Stage one was completed before 2006 with three fuse plugs installed to blow up a section of the earth wall to assist in an emergency measure. A system that was so close (1/2 of one metre, 500cm) to being activated in the present flood to save the main wall from water flow over the top.
Stage two to this day in 2011 has not yet been built. Work that would have raised the dam wall at a cost of around two hundred million dollars at the time and saved an additional five times the amount of water that is being held currently in a flood emergency.
The damage bill for this 2011 flood disaster to Brisbane city and environs will exceed 10 billion dollars for the sake of 250 million back in '06.
Why was this wall not built?
Why did Beattie not support it's construction?
Beatties government with Anna Bligh as a cabinet minister did nothing here, not even to the point of financially assisting the Brisbane city council with it's outlay of 80 million dollars on stage one!
It would have been reasonable at the time for people to support the council position to go cold on stage two if the Beattie government was not prepared to financially assist further flood proofing of the Wivenhoe dam.
Beattie's position, of spend nothing do nothing approach to future extended flood proofing to protect Brisbane, is flawed logic locked in Beattie's mind.
His logic extended right up to and beyond his government's panic explosion in 2007 when the Brisbane water supply was at 20% of it's maximum capacity.
Panic planning was placed in speed mode, time was of the essence, where the cost / benefit ratio to the taxpayer appears to have been irrelevant. Seen to be doing something became very important and political survival became paramount.
In the panic environment the plan was born (In hindsight a financial disaster) to tap into local council dams, build a desalination plant, build a system to recycle sewerage into drinking water, create a diversion for distraction, a flawed planned dam proposal in the Mary river valley, and spend millions of dollars on the project to make it look like a real solution.
Previously Beattie had failed with his cloud seeding adventure (cost unknown) fortunately for the taxpayers he did not attempt to boil stones to release water vapor so mad was his political thinking at the time anything was on the planning table!
Quickly Beattie rolled out his 9 billion dollar plan (money borrowed) with checks and balances unknown. Lucky contractors gorged on Beattie's easy money as highlighted in a Sunday Mail article 18th. May 2008, 2.4 billion dollar water proposal blowout..and the final bill is likely to be much higher. This outrageous statistic achieved in the first 12 months of construction. The irony of it all is that if Beattie's 9 billion dollar folly had not expended 1 dollar then the whole of Brisbane would still be no worse off today with it's water needs. A damming indictment of Peter Beattie's mega incompetence' appears to be a light description!
Beattie should also front the enquiry into the 2011 floods and explain his actions where hindsight is not a legitimate escape route to follow.
Person of interest number 3, is Anna Bligh, Beattie's trusted lieutenant who was a senior member of his cabinet.
Clearly there are questions raised here that can only be answered by Wayne Goss, Peter Beattie and Anna Bligh and all must front the enquiry if it is deemed to be credible. And "terms of reference" must be wide ranging.
It would appear that what could be revealed from the enquiry is that political incompetence and interference played a large roll in the Wivenhoe flood control procedure and actual operations.
Now after the Brisbane flood and other events Bligh's budget has no substantial funds to adequately assist people with huge losses through no fault of their own.
One Nation's position to Bligh's nightmare will be ignored by the media but the facts are on record and cannot be denied. One Nation has policies since 1998, and if implemented would have saved sorrow and hardship to thousands.
The media are resisting, though they cannot ignore, good can emanate from sound intelligent One Nation policies.
Statistics prove that the 2011 floods could be easily repeated at any time negating the luxury of years (36 years since the last major flood) to the next event.
What must be avoided is the public forced to endure another fast mad knee jerk solution in lieu of a change of government.
The truth and solutions are found here on our website!
Ian j Nelson State Director One Nation Queensland
