Rocklea flood fix in limbo as state, council funding dispute drags on

A simple fix for the worst flood hotspot in Brisbane has been held up for two years by a stoush between the state government and council over who should fund the works.

Jo and Allan Clark-Jones (with dog Henry) at floodprone Stable Swamp Creek in Rocklea. Picture: Adam Head

Vital works to fix Brisbane’s worst flood hotspot, in Rocklea, are in limbo after the previous Labor state government and council failed to reach agreement on a funding split for the past two years.

Stable Swamp Creek has been choked with rubbish, weeds and silt for many years, residents said.

It flooded again during a storm overnight on November 13 in which a car was washed into the creek.

In the 2022 deluge about 600 nearby homes were flooded and since then 100 have been bought back, but mitigation works have not progressed.

In a classic case of bureaucratic tug of war, one bank of the creek near Fauna Parade Park is owned by various state bodies including the Natural Resources Department, Education Queensland and Energex. The opposite bank is controlled by council.

But since 2022 each has been waiting for the other to pay for the mitigation.

Local Labor Councillor Steve Griffiths accused Council Environment Chair Tracy Davis of reneging on what he said was an agreement in March to fully fund the $800,000 project.

A car washed into the creek during a storm overnight on November 13, 2024. Image: Facebook/Rocklea 4061

But a council spokeswoman said Ms Davis had only ever agreed for council to carry out the work once the state paid half of the cost, even though council controlled only about one-third of the affected area.

“The Lord Mayor and I recognise the strong community support to undertake the work, which is why funding was allocated to the council component of land holdings for two consecutive budgets,’’ Ms Davis said in an email to Mr Griffiths sent at 5pm the day before the state election.

Jo and Allan Clark-Jones (with dog Henry) at floodprone Stable Swamp Creek in Rocklea. Picture: Adam Head

Mr Griffiths said when there had been previous funding disagreements for flood mitigation council had eventually agreed to pay the full cost.

That included significant work upstream in LNP Councillor Kim Marx’s ward and also downstream.

“This has been going on for two years. There’s huge flooding there as Stable Swamp Creek takes all the water from the southside including from as far as Sunnybank and Mt Gravatt,’’ he said.

“The debris in the creek is the major reason for flooding in Rocklea.’’

It was understood flooding was so bad Education Queensland had recently stopped earthworks and construction of sheds for a new sports facility for the Dutton Park-based Brisbane South State Secondary College.

An abandoned, flood-damaged house in Rocklea. More than 100 houses have been bought back and demolished, with many other raised. Picture : Matthew Poon.

Rocklea residents Jo and Allan Clark-Jones said most of the worst-affected houses were now either demolished or raised, but residents still faced being cut off in floods.

“I was at a community meeting where the state government and council were present and the government were being bullies before finally agreeing to do a feasibility study,’’ she said.

“But now we’ve got a new government. The fear we have is that we’re in for another potentially disastrous summer.

“To me this is a no brainer. It’s a maintenance issue to get rid of the tyres, shopping trolleys, silt and weeds that are clogging the creek.

“The water just stops there. The bridges are built to withstand a good deal but we often can’t use them for weeks after a flood because they’re covered (with debris).’’