Wivenhoe Dam victims have to wait two more years

The decision by state-owned dam operator Seqwater will draw out the wait for compensation for flood victims.

Seqwater will appeal the landmark class action victory for the 2011 Wivenhoe floods. Picture: Lyndon Mechielsen

Thousands of victims of the devastating 2011 Wivenhoe Dam floods will be forced to wait longer for compensation after Queensland government-owned dam operator Seqwater appealed a class action victory.

Nearly 7000 southeast Queensland flood victims celebrated late last year, after the NSW Supreme Court found Wivenhoe Dam was managed negligently during the flooding disaster in January 2011.

While the state of Queensland decided weeks later it would not appeal the judgment, dam operator Seqwater on Friday confirmed it would challenge the decision, potentially delaying any resolution to the case by two years.

Another state-owned dam operator, Sunwater, must decide in the next fortnight whether it will appeal.

Lead plaintiff Vince Rodriguez - whose sports shop in Brisbane’s Fairfield was flooded in 2011 - said he had waited nearly nine years for the “thorough” court judgment, finding in their favour.

“We and thousands of other flood victims have waited a long time for justice, and we were overjoyed when we won the case last year,” Mr Rodriguez said.

“It’s very disappointing that Seqwater and its insurers will appeal this decision...we’ve had enough.”

“My family and the thousands of other victims don’t see any difference between the parties and the insurers, they’re all state-owned bodies and in our view the state needs to act now to help us.”

Seqwater CEO Neil Brennan said the authority had not made the decision lightly.

“It has followed an extensive review of the judgment and consultation with (Seqwater’s) insurers,” Mr Brennan said.

Seqwater is the Queensland Government Bulk Water Supply Authority, and manages Wivenhoe Dam, the main drinking water supply for the southeast region.

Liberal National Party Opposition leader Deb Frecklington said the authority’s decision was a “kick in the guts” to flood victims.

“Annastacia Palaszczuk had the power to direct these government-owned corporations to not undertake this cruel action, but she failed to act,” Ms Frecklington said.

“Seqwater will now slug taxpayers to defend itself in court.”

But Deputy Premier Jackie Trad and Natural Resources Minister Anthony Lynham - the dam operators’ shareholding ministers - previously said the government could not safely issue a ministerial direction to the operators not to appeal.

“Seqwater and SunWater are public entities overseen by independent boards and each has its own insurance policy...if a ministerial direction to Seqwater or SunWater to not appeal the court decision could be given, it would not bind their insurers and may compromise their insurance policies,” the ministers said in a joint statement in December.

Maurice Blackburn principal lawyer Rebecca Gilsenan, who is representing the class action claimants, said the appeal process could take up to two years, and her clients’ “hearts are sinking”.

“In November last year, our clients could feel justice and it felt like it was in their reach and now it feels like it is slipping out of their hands,” Ms Gilsenan said.

“The real justice, compensating our clients, that feels much further away.”

She said the flood victims were calling on the state government to step in with a “whole-of-government approach”.

“As far as our clients can see, they just see state-owned entities and they see a solution getting all the much further away now.”

Ms Gilsenan said Sunwater was now entangled in new and separate litigation with insurers who wanted to deny coverage.

Despite the appeal, the defendants will continue with a parallel matter regarding the division of responsibility for the flooding if the appeal fails.