Category Archives: Floods

River Walk rebuild looking less likely now

Posted on February 10, 2011 by Gene Tunny

PM Julia Gillard appears reluctant to provide Brisbane City Council with the cash to fix up the River Walk and to fully repair the City Cat network. The Courier-Mail reports: Council big enough to pay for flood recovery bill, Julia … Continue reading →

Posted in Brisbane, Floods | Leave a comment

Ipswich MP slams flood response

Posted on February 10, 2011 by Gene Tunny

While the consensus across Queensland is that our authorities handled the floods exceptionally well, Ipswich federal MP Shayne Neumann offers a hard-hitting, dissenting view – i.e. Ipswich was ignored in the flood. The Queensland Times reports: EVERY level of government failed … Continue reading →

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Flood clean up & repair bill around $1,100 per Brisbane household

Posted on February 8, 2011 by Gene Tunny

The Courier-Mail reports Brisbane flood cost City Council $440 mil. The Brisbane City Council area has a population of around 1.05 million people living in around 400,000 households, meaning the City Council’s clean up and repair costs add up to around … Continue reading →

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Courier-Mail’s big call on population boom hitting the wall

Posted on February 6, 2011 by Gene Tunny

The Courier-Mail’s Patrick Lion went too far in his article on Queensland’s population growth this morning when he declared that: AUSTRALIA’S love affair with Queensland is over, with migration from interstate crashing to its lowest level in almost 30 years. And … Continue reading →

Posted in Cyclones, Floods, Migration, Population | 1 Comment

Cairns only just starting to recover from economic slump

Posted on February 1, 2011 by Gene Tunny

Queensland’s cruel Summer continues with news that Cairns is at threat from the 500 km-wide monster Cyclone Yasi: Thousands to be evacuated as Cairns is warned of flooding from powerful Cyclone Yasi The Courier-Mail has produced a useful and frightening … Continue reading →

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Levy may help Government avoid debt limit increase

Posted on January 28, 2011 by Gene Tunny

The Gillard Government must have known its flood levy would be hugely unpopular. The only plausible explanation for the levy is that the Government wants to avoid another debate about its debt limit, currently at $200 billion, as per the … Continue reading →

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Flood relief arrangements are inequitable

Posted on January 26, 2011 by Gene Tunny

Centrelink offices across Queensland have been busy lately, accepting applications for $1,000 payments for disaster relief following the floods. While most applications for relief will be genuine, it’s hard not to conclude there will be a significant number of rorters or … Continue reading →

Posted in Brisbane, Floods, Ipswich | 2 Comments

Lord Mayor launches his own flood review

Posted on January 21, 2011 by Gene Tunny

Is Brisbane Lord Mayor Campbell Newman worried about what the Government-commissioned flood inquiry will find regarding City Council policies, particularly around land use planning? Today the Lord Mayor launched his own independent flood review, focusing on the City Council’s handling … Continue reading →

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Pointless debating floods levy right now

Posted on January 20, 2011 by Gene Tunny

Unafraid of being accused of rank political opportunism, the Leader of the Opposition Tony Abbott today urged PM Julia Gillard not to impose a “great big new tax” – i.e. the floods levy – to fund the Queensland reconstruction and to … Continue reading →

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Can this Summer get any crueller?

Posted on January 20, 2011 by Gene Tunny

It certainly could. The Townsville Bulletin reports: City on alert for tidal flooding and cyclone The “beer ship” to Townsville, replenishing XXXX supplies, may arrive just in time to fortify Townsville residents for potentially challenging times ahead: Beer ship to … Continue reading →

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