Why Deputy Premier Steven Miles got it wrong when he said Hinkler MP Keith Pitt had “let us down”

Opinion: “At a time when Government funds are not so readily available it is important that deliberation to prioritise expenditure on community welfare issues is paramount”.

Member for Hinkler Keith Pitt at Parliament House in Canberra. Picture: Gary Ramage

While everyone is entitled to their opinion, I believe our Deputy Premier Mr Steven Miles got it wrong in his statement in the Bundaberg Today article when he reportedly said, “The Deputy Prime Minister and Member for Hinkler have let us down.”

As a member of the Bundaberg Flood Protection Group, I can assure him that while he and a few of his proponents may feel let down, many thousands of the Bundaberg community feel that our local Federal Member and the Deputy Leader of the National Party got it right.

At a time when Government funds are not so readily available it is important that deliberation to prioritise expenditure on community welfare issues is paramount.

I am confident that most people who were impacted by the 2013 floods will also applaud it.

After reading all the available reports many times, I believe that this proposed levee has been a political preference for both our State and Local Governments since its inception and not necessarily with the welfare of the community in mind.

It appears that some other and better mitigation options e.g. A safe evacuation route for North residents, Widening and dredging of Millaqiuin bend, were overlooked due to higher costs, so what does this say about our current leaders?

Human safety does not appear to be their top priority - communities’ welfare should come first, not political agendas.

Len Reif, East Bundaberg