Hopes Federal reluctance to fund Bundaberg East Levee will lead to further review and consultation

Opinion: “Let’s not build a flood levee just so that it can be said the mitigation action plan was delivered”.

Federal Treasurer Josh Frydenberg delivers his budget address. Photo: Sam Mooy/Getty Images

I applaud the Federal Government’s reluctance to fund the $42m needed to complete the East levee.

Hopefully now there will be a review and some real consultation with the entire impacted community.

Some of the other options can now be revisited and possibly advanced to protect most of our community and especially North Bundaberg which was severely impacted and desperately need a safe evacuation route.

As a concerned citizen and a spokesperson for the Bundaberg Flood Protection Group I would like to advise all our Council, and State and Federal political elected representatives that since we commenced our petitioning against the East Levee wall around Easter time, we have collected thousands of names of people opposing its construction as a priority.

The interesting data we are finding is that between 85 and 90 percent of the people we have approached and spoken with have willingly signed.

Approximately 50 to 60 percent of these people knew very little or nothing about the proposed wall’s location or its potential ramifications.

This is in stark contrast to what we are being told by the proponents of the wall, who claim to have had extensive community consultation and tell us that this is what the Bundaberg people want.

When told of the actual construction details together with the pros and cons of the levee wall, most people approached are bewildered as to why it should be progressed, when the cost is so high, and the remainder of the community remains unprotected while there are possibly better options on the table.

I would like to point out that this issue is not intended to be a political issue and we the BFPG are calling on all Local, State and Federal representatives to show some common sense and foresight and put hold to the current proposal and revisit all the options which were put forward originally by the CRG, and consulting engineering firms GHD and Jacobs.

Our elected representatives seem to keep forgetting who put them in their current positions and that these people need to be listened to and not ignored.

When elected representatives stop listening to their constituents it is time for them to go.

These type of community issues always warrant extensive community consultation and should not just be decided and progressed by a few who may have personal or political agendas or may even have pecuniary interests with the successful advancement of the proposal.

We are dealing with a serious issue that if handled correctly could save many lives and properties and if mishandled could waste a lot of money and cost many lives.

It is also not an issue that should only be progressed to benefit a few here and now, the future is what we all should be concerned about and if we cannot afford the best solution or solutions now, then let’s wait until we can.

Let’s not build a flood levee just so that it can be said the mitigation action plan was delivered.

This current band-aid proposal is potentially detrimental to much of the low-lying areas of Bundaberg and will also put all existing businesses and residences along East Quay Street in the river.

The BFPG have absolutely no agenda with this subject other than stopping our leaders from appeasing a powerful few and wasting taxpayer’s money on a flood mitigation project which only benefits a minority instead of protecting and benefiting the majority.

Remember the adage: A job worth doing, is worth doing well.

Sid McKeown, East Bundaberg