Greenvale residents wait years for Australian Defence Force to fix damage done during Exercise Talisman Sabre
Residents of a tiny NQ town have been waiting years for the Australian Defence Force to fix their homes after a military exercise got a little too close.
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Residents in a tiny North Queensland town have been battling the Australian Defence Force for years after their homes were damaged by a sonic boom in a military exercise.
Low-flying jets caused broken windows and lifted roofs on more than 10 homes during an Operation Talisman Sabre’s flyover of Greenvale in June 2023.
Paula Ransom, a community leader, said a number of people asked her ‘what was that, what was going on, does anybody know?’.
“I spoke to a local policeman who agreed with me that it was a sonic boom, she said.
After the event, Ms Ransom got in touch with the government’s aircraft noise inquiries and complaints.
“It took me three times of sending them (complaints) off before I got anybody from the ADF to call us with a bit of information, which wasn’t anything,” she said.
“We just collected all of the information and waited for something to happen with the ADF, and nothing ever happened.”
With a population either on a pension or on another type of benefit, Ms Ransom said the people of Greenvale couldn’t afford to fix something that wasn’t their fault.
“It’s not as if you can actually take the window out and take it to either Townsville at 240km each way, or Charters Towers, which is 200km each way and get them repaired yourself,” she said.
“The impact is quite significant on the people in the town of Greenvale, they’re angry that they haven’t had any resolution to this.”
Traeger MP Robbie Katter said he couldn’t believe it has been almost two years and nothing has happened for residents.
“It’s bizarre to me that we’re talking about this two years later and hasn’t been resolved, It doesn’t reflect the high standards we expect from our defence force,” he said.
Mr Katter said his office had been in touch with the defence force.
“We’ve certainly made multiple approaches and we haven’t had assistance at all,” he said.
“They can’t say it hasn’t really been brought to their attention.”
Ms Ransom said the community would be very pleased if the ADF acknowledged there was a problem and if they would just come and fix the properties.
“They’re not a community that’s going to say we’ve got this and this and this has happened because of the sonic boom,” she said.
“They’re just a community that just wants a fair go and to have their property fixed.”
An ADF spokesman said they were aware of the incident and were committed to working with communities impacted by air operations.
“The conduct of flying operations is vital for defence preparedness. Air force operates under control measures to minimise the impact of aircraft activity on local residents where reasonably possible,” they said.
“Where possible, air force avoids known noise sensitive areas, townships and other areas of significant activity.”
Originally published as Greenvale residents wait years for Australian Defence Force to fix damage done during Exercise Talisman Sabre
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