Murray Watt confirms $5m federal funding for South Mackay flood levee

Relief is on the way for families buckling under rising insurance premiums after the Labor government said work could begin on another flood levee as early as March next year.

Mackay’s flood protection dreams are becoming a reality after the federal Labor government confirmed it had allocated $5m in the budget to help build out another section of the Sugarcity’s levee system.

The council already has a funding agreement in place to build out its ‘missing link’ levee at the Valetta Garden area near Heaths Rd and now with another $5m in its pocket, the council will deliver stage 1 of the South Mackay levee, which borders the airport.

In a whirlwind tour to Mackay, Emergency Management Minister Murray Watt said early work on the new levee could begin as early as March next year.

“I know the council has been working on this project for quite some time and I would be hopeful that by March April next year we can start seeing some action,” he said.

(From left to right) Mackay MP Julieanne Gilbert, Emergency Management Minister Murray Watt and Mackay Mayor Greg Williamson in Mackay on November 1, 2022. Picture: Duncan Evans

“And potentially it (the South Mackay levee) could be built alongside the missing link, which is obviously going to be commencing even sooner.”

Mackay Mayor Greg Williamson confirmed the council had already received $378,000 from the state government to progress design work on the South Mackay levee and the minister’s confirmation meant construction could now begin much sooner than expected.

“This is a most welcome agreement,” the mayor said.

“This extra $5m, and we (the council) will put our $5m towards it, and that will build stage 1 of the South Mackay levee system,” he said.

“So that is a very important, a critical levee system for our protection, our resilience building.”

Stage 1 is expected to be the most expensive portion of the levee because it cuts through swampland.

Stage 2 will run alongside Boundary Road East.

The South Mackay flood levee is marked out in red. Federal Labor allocated $5m in the October budget to help build out the levee. Picture: Duncan Evans

The October budget boost adds to the federal support the Mackay council has received for its broader $30m vision to fortify ratepayers from storm and flood damage and rising insurance premiums.

A third part of the overall system would reinforce the training walls along the Pioneer River near Caneland.

The $5m comes from the Disaster Ready Fund in the budget, part of a broader $30.4m spend across 2022-23 to implement disaster resilience initiatives across 30 local government areas.

Mr Watt said the money would protect people’s homes, protect taxpayers from disaster repair bills and lower insurance premiums.

Mackay MP Julieanne Gilbert, a resident of the “flat” East Mackay area, said her insurance bill had come in at $12,000 this year.

“Families just cannot afford that hit every year to protect their homes,” she said.

“We need to have protection from the tidal surge.”