2000 sign up for class action over Queensland floods

Goodna under water 12 January 2011

THE massive scale of the proposed class action over the flooding of Brisbane is expected to give the financier behind the case up to 30 per cent of a damages claim that could hit $500 million.

Two thousand Queenslanders have already signed agreements with litigation funder IMF (Australia) that will give the company between 20 per cent and 30 per cent of any damages or financial settlement.

www.TheAustralian.com.au

23.3.12

2000 people to sue state over 2011 flood

VICTIM: Lauraine Ormond of Goodna was one of
 many people asking questions about a possible
 class action against the government for losses
 suffered in the 2011 floods.

OSWALD Van Sanden is one of 400 flood victims at Goodna to have voiced a desire to join a $1 billion class action against Seqwater and the State Government.

Mr Van Sanden attended a meeting on Monday night in Goodna where class action lawyers Maurice Blackburn outlined their plans for legal action over the mismanagement of last year's floods. 

"I was in Brisbane Terrace in Goodna and I got flooded out for a second time but I never got a penny from the insurance," Mr Van Sanden told the QT. 

"I nearly had a breakdown and had to sell my house for half price. I want to see if the lawyers can help us to get some money." 

Lawyers announced at the meeting that over 2000 claimants had already signed up for a class action, with that figure expected to treble in coming months. 

Meeting organiser, Ipswich councillor Paul Tully, described it as a major success. 

Cr Tully called on the State Government to establish a compensation fund to meet all legal claims and to avoid costly litigation in the courts. 

"People deserve to be justly compensated now and not 10 years down the track when the 2011 flood is a one-paragraph entry in the latest history books," Cr Tully said. 

"Residents were fully briefed on the basis of the proposed class action and their legal rights to sue the state government. 

"This could be a long, drawn-out process but the prospects of ultimate success are very promising," Cr Tully said. 

"They have already got over 2000 people signed up through Maurice Blackburn for a class action and they expect that to treble in the next few months. 

"They haven't signed on yet to the class action but they left their names, addresses and details to signify that they want to be sent all the material. 

"There were a lot of good questions raised. One bloke had lost his job and wanted to know if a class action would cover that... and they said it possibly would. 

"There were other questions in relation to renters who had lost possessions in the flood and they were told they could clearly claim. People who were underinsured were told they could still claim and even people who received help from the Premier's fund but incurred other losses could still claim," he said. 

"We had people mainly from the Goodna area but also from Ipswich and the western suburbs of Brisbane. It was a very positive meeting. I was really pleased."

www.QT.com.au

21.3.12

Flood law suit attracts hundreds more

Brisbane Road Gailes during the January 2011 flood,
looking west towards Goodna.

HUNDREDS of Queensland flood victims have expressed interest in joining a potential billion-dollar lawsuit over the management of last year's floods.

Momentum is building for a class action against the Queensland Government after the state's flood inquiry found the government-owned Wivenhoe Dam operator Seqwater breached the dam manual during floods in January 2011.

Maurice Blackburn outlined litigation plans to 400 residents in Goodna last night.

They are expected to join more than 2000 Brisbane and Brisbane Valley residents who have already committed to taking on the State Government.

The meeting organiser, Ipswich councillor Paul Tully, said the flood destroyed 600 homes in Goodna, including his two-storey home.

Mr Tully said he intended joining the class action to recover losses not covered by his insurance.

"This could be a long, drawn-out process, but the prospects of ultimate success are very promising," he said.

He called on the State Government to establish a compensation fund to meet all legal claims and to avoid a costly legal battle.

"People deserve to be justly compensated now and not 10 years down the track when the 2011 flood is a one-paragraph entry in the latest history books," he said.

Flood mapping and modelling would be conducted to determine which areas would have flooded if Wivenhoe dam was managed according to the dam manual.

www.HeraldSun.com.au

20.3.12

Anna Bligh says legal action likely over floods in the way of inquiry findings

The aftermath of the Brisbane River flood on
 13 January 2011 looking east along Smiths Rd
 Goodna,  from near the corner of William St.

PREMIER Anna Bligh concedes legal action is now likely against SEQ Water over its operation of Wivenhoe Dam during the 2011 floods.

After receiving the final report from the commission of inquiry this morning, Ms Bligh said the document represented a "comprehensive, rigorous examination" of all issues relating to the 2011 floods in Brisbane and other areas of the state.

www.TheAustralian.com.au

18.3.12

Wivenhoe Dam bosses holidayed as flood crisis deepened

Flood gates opened on Wivenhoe Dam. 

NO ONE was available to take charge of the floods crisis at Wivenhoe Dam because the relevant senior bureaucrats were on holiday, flood inquiry documents reveal.

John Bradley, then director-general of the Department of Resource Management and now Anna Bligh's right-hand man, went on holiday on December 25, 2010, leaving his deputy, Debbie Best, in charge.

But Mr Bradley had removed Ms Best as his authorised delegate in respect of dam safety in August, 2010, nominating instead Kate Jones's top adviser Terry Wall - who was also on holiday.

Mr Wall returned from leave and took over on January 10. Mr Bradley cut short his holiday by a week and was on deck the following afternoon.

By that time the dam engineers were muddling through without help from senior bureaucrats.

On January 10 and 11, as the crisis escalated, they sought advice from Seqwater's principal engineer, Barton Maher, and dam safety director Peter Allen, No. 4 on Mr Bradley's list of approved delegates.

The engineers asked Mr Allen late on January 10 to approve a delay in releases as Wivenhoe approached the safety-critical level of 74m set by the manual - so that big dam outflows would not coincide with flows into the Brisbane River from Lockyer Creek. But Mr Allen was reluctant to permit this for more than a few hours.

The $15 million flood inquiry made no findings or recommendations relating to dam safety or the 74m "trigger" level for strategy W4, under which protecting the dam becomes the priority, rather than preventing downstream flooding.

The flood inquiry's 654-page final report, which recommended the dam engineers be investigated by the Crime and Misconduct Commission for making false reports about their actions, focused almost entirely on January 8 and 9, even though most of the testimony last year focused on the height of the crisis on January 10 and 11.
www.couriermail.com.au

20.3.12

Successful meeting of Goodna flood victims

Rod Hodgson, Principal Maurice Blackburn Lawyers Queensland,
  addresses the meeting with John Walker IMF (Australia) left
 and Goodna Councillor Paul Tully

A meeting of 400 flood victims was held at the Goodna State School Community Hall tonight.

Flood victims from Goodna, Redbank, Gailes and other parts of Ipswich as well as Brisbane's western suburbs attended the meeting to listen to an update from Maurice Blackburn Lawyers and IMF Australia (litigation funders) on a possible class action against Seqwater.

It is likely further flood modelling on behalf of potential claimants will be completed by the end of 2012 with a decision to be made on a class action at that time.

Class actions can often run for years but there will be pressure on the new state government to resolve any negligence claim quickly and fairly.

Wivenhoe Dam engineers given protection

Ipswich Motorway Goodna looking east towards
Gailes during the Brisbane River flood of 11 Janaury 2011.

Security guards have again been stationed outside the homes of three engineers under investigation for their alleged mismanagement of Wivenhoe Dam at the height of last years' floods.

In its final report, released on Friday, the Floods Commission of Inquiry recommended the Crime and Misconduct Commission investigate charging flood engineers, John Tibaldi, Rob Ayre and Terry Malone, over their operation of Wivenhoe Dam.

Mr Tibaldi and Mr Malone have taken special leave from their positions in charge of Wivenhoe Dam, since giving evidence at the inquiry last month.

The engineers are accused of breaching the dam's manual and then misleading the inquiry over contemporaneous records about its operation.

The CMC has been asked to review the engineer's preparation of documents surrounding the activation of certain water release strategies, including a brief to then-minister Stephen Robertson.

Seqwater today confirmed government security guards were stationed outside the homes of flood engineers in order to protect them from the media and the public.

"In the lead up to, and following, the release of the final report, Seqwater engaged security personnel for their flood engineers via the state government's security services," Seqwater said in a statement to brisbanetimes.com.au.

"These personnel have been required to ask media to respect the engineers' privacy."

Private security guards were hired last month to protect the engineers after media reported that the trio had received death threats.

At the time, Premier Anna Bligh said the security guards were hired only as a precaution, because police had been unable to confirm the death threat reports.

At least one southeast Queensland flood victim has said he does not feel vindictive towards the engineers.

But 70-year-old Goodna resident Dave Carney said he is waiting for them to admit their wrongdoing.

“What I suspected all along and what a lot of other residents suspected – that [dam operators] did the wrong thing in the first place – was right,” he said on Friday.

“They decided they better not let us know that.

“I'm not vindictive. Everybody makes mistakes and they've obviously made mistakes. But the only thing they've done wrong is try to cover it up.”

Tonight flood victims will meet in Goodna to discuss a possible class action against the state government, following the release of the inquiry's final report.

The meeting at Goodna State School will be convened by Ipswich councillor Paul Tully and lawyers from Maurice Blackburn will be on hand to explain flood victims' rights from 7pm.

"This is an opportunity for home and business owners, as well as renters, to recover property and contents losses, decreases in house and land values and pain and suffering as a result of the flood, "Cr Tully said.

"This will be the largest class action ever undertaken in Australia and flood victims are entitled to be fairly compensated for this man-made flood."

www.BrisbaneTimes.com.au
19.3.12

Brisbane River Flood: Call for CMC probe to be expanded

Flood gates open on Wivenhoe Dam. 

SEQWATER lawyers have strongly disputed a key accusation confronting the three Wivenhoe dam engineers as a high-profile flood victim demands the crime watchdog expand its investigation.

Ipswich councillor Paul Tully, who lost his family's Goodna home in the flood, said the three engineers could not be made "scapegoats".

"It would be unthinkable these three engineers on their own (acted) without a nod and a wink from Seqwater," Cr Tully said.

"The CMC needs to widen its investigation."

The flood inquiry, which released its final report on Friday, recommended the Crimes and Misconduct Commission investigate the conduct of flood engineers Robert Ayre, Terry Malone and John Tibaldi.

The men are being investigated in relation to their preparation of a report following the floods as well as oral evidence they gave to the inquiry.

The men were openly accused inside the inquiry about their operation of Wivenhoe.

Seqwater lawyers, in one of their final submissions to the inquiry, strenuously deny the accusations.

Cr Tully said the CMC owed it to the people of Queensland to leave no stone unturned in the search for the truth and to find the real puppeteers in Seqwater.

"It beggars belief that three engineers would (gather) their evidence without a tick of approval from those above them," he said.

"If necessary, they should be offered immunity from prosecution to reveal the whole truth."

Meanwhile, the planned class action against Seqwater and the State Government continues to develop as the largest in Australia's history.

A meeting of flood victims has been convened by Cr Tully at the Goodna State School tonight with lawyers from Maurice Blackburn in attendance to explain how class actions work.

"All flood victims across Ipswich and Brisbane are invited to attend the meeting so they can sign up for a class action," he said.

www.CourierMail.com.au

19.3.12

Goodna flood victims meet tonight

GREATER GOODNA FLOOD GROUP

www.GoodnaFlood.blogspot.com

WHEN: 7.00pm tonight Monday 19 March 2012

WHERE: Goodna State School Community Hall, Stanley St Goodna

Media Release from Ipswich Councillor Paul Tully: Flood victims gather to plan class action

A meeting of flood victims will be held tonight to consider a class action against the state government for losses suffered in the 2011 flood.

The meeting convened by Ipswich councillor Paul Tully will be held at the Goodna State School at 7 o'clock.

Lawyers from Maurice Blackburn will be in attendance to explain flood victims' rights as momentum gathers for a billion dollar class action in the wake of the release of the Floods Commission final report.

Cr Tully urged flood victims from across Ipswich and Brisbane to tonight tonight's meeting.

"This is an opportunity home home and business owners as well as renters to recover property and contents losses, decrease in house and land values and pain and suffering as a result of the flood.

"I urge all residents to attend this important meeting with almost 2000 people already signed up for a class action against Seqwater and the state government.

"This will be the largest class action ever undertaken in Australia and flood victims are entitled to be fairly compensated for this man-made flood," Cr Tully said.

2011 Flood Sequel: Clarifying flood cover

Goodna at the height of the January 2011 flood, with
the Goodna Railway Station at middle left.

WOULD you be prepared to pay $6000 or more per year in home and contents insurance premiums to ensure your family was covered against all possible flood events?

What about an extra $2000 in home and contents insurance premiums even though your home is perched on top of a large hill?

In addition to Catherine Holmes's Queensland Floods Commission of Inquiry, which reported on Friday, the Commonwealth Government and the insurance industry were grappling with how to provide insurance cover for people who need it most.

Assistant Treasurer and Minister for Financial Services Bill Shorten said last year: "So much confusion and further heartache has occurred during the long clean-up and recovery period following the devastation (the floods of 2011). Confusion and heartache brought about by the difficulty people face in understanding their insurance contracts, and the devastating realisation for some people that, despite the word 'flood' being in an insurance contract, no cover is offered for a house that has been inundated with water."

Mostly the reason for that lack of coverage is that it is very expensive.

Estimated premiums for flood cover for homes assessed as at extreme risk of flooding are as high as $6777 a year, on top of standard home and contents premiums, according to data from the Insurance Council of Australia. High-risk properties pay an extra $1443 and medium-risk areas face $572 a year.

Katherine Lane, a solicitor with the Insurance Law Service, a national service for consumers said: "Working people can't afford that kind of money. And the last thing the Government and consumers need is for the people at the highest risk of flood to have the least insurance cover against flood."

The insurance companies want taxpayers to foot the bill for those massive premiums for flood insurance.

Rob Whelan, chief executive officer of the ICA said: "Direct, short-term government subsidies are the best mechanism to address flood insurance affordability issues."

The ICA is proposing that homeowners in flood-prone areas would receive thousands of dollars each year to help them pay their home and contents insurance premiums.

The ICA believes the massive cost of the scheme would create an incentive for governments to build better mitigation infrastructure to protect homes against floods. Ms Lane said that idea was unlikely to eventuate.

Another cause of confusion and heartache is how insurers assess flood risks.

"The problem is that some insurers work off flood maps, which can be very inaccurate," Ms Lane said.

Queensland's flood maps seem to be the most inaccurate of any state.

The ICA can only supply flood mapping data for 60 to 70 per cent of Queensland homes, mostly around Brisbane and the Gold Coast.

The Federal Government is addressing these problems. A common definition of flood across all insurers has been decided. One-page facts sheets will give customers an easy-to-read summary of key information in the policy.

www.The SundayMail.com.au

18.3.12

Water chiefs stay afloat as they dodge blame over dam mismanagement in flood inquiry

Wivenhoe Dam as surging floodwaters are released.

WATER fat cats in charge during last year's devastating floods retain their lucrative jobs, dodging blame for dam mismanagement as well as an alleged cover-up under their watch.

As the fallout begins from Friday's flood inquiry report, it can also be revealed that three engineers referred to the Crime and Misconduct Commission will have to repay legal fees if they are convicted of any offence.

Without their mismanagement, there could have been "at least some improvement" in the flooding that inundated thousands of homes and businesses in Brisbane and Ipswich, the inquiry found.

While the flood engineers bore the brunt of the blame, the hierarchy of top executives running the state's water infrastructure is almost unchanged.

Dam operator Seqwater's chief executive, Peter Borrows - who received an $80,000 pay rise after the floods to take his annual salary package to $500,000 - remains in charge.

Mr Borrows declined to comment yesterday on whether he accepted any responsibility or should stand down, with Seqwater providing no response to the inquiry's report for a second day.

Law firm Maurice Blackburn said it expected the CMC to conduct a broader examination of Seqwater during investigations into the three flood engineers.

"When you have monumental failures of this type it is uncommon for those failures to simply be the product of one individual or a small group of individuals," partner Rod Hodgson said.

"They often reflect systemic competency or culture problems within organisations."

Final submissions on behalf of flood victims are understood to have questioned how a culture could have developed in Seqwater that could have allowed the dam manual to be disregarded.

There were also concerns over why there hadn't been improvements to the dam manual, heavily criticised by Justice Holmes.

SEQ Water Grid Manager's chief executive, Barry Dennien, and the Department of Environment and Management's dam safety director Peter Allen also retain their roles.

Premier Anna Bligh said the inquiry did not recommend action against executives. Liberal National Party leader Campbell Newman said he would merge water bodies if elected.

The State Government must also decide whether to continue to provide legal assistance to dam engineers Robert Ayre, John Tibaldi and John Malone, who have been referred to the CMC.

Public servants can be assisted during an investigation only if they "diligently and conscientiously endeavoured" to carry out their duties, guidelines state.

Ms Bligh said Seqwater continued to approve legal assistance but "reimbursement would be required if an individual is convicted of a criminal offence".

www.TheSundayMail.com.au

18.3.12

SEQ flood victims' meeting Monday night

Cr Paul Tully
Convenor
Greater Goodna Flood Group

INVITATION TO FLOOD VICTIMS

All home and business flood victims from southeast Queensland are invited to a meeting to discuss a class action against Seqwater and the State Government to recover their losses incurred in the floods of 11 and 12 January 2011.

Lawyers from Maurice Blackburn will be in attendance to explain how a "no win, no fee" class action works.

This is an opportunity to recover your family and personal losses.  

This may include your home, business, contents, loss of property values, and/or pain and suffering.

Come along and listen to the the experts.

Where:    Goodna State School Community Hall
                Stanley St Goodna


When:      7.00pm, Monday 19 March 2012

Damages to flow from Wivenhoe Dam breach

Wivenhoe Dam, north-west of Brisbane

THE Queensland government has been exposed to the threat of a billion-dollar compensation claim from flood victims and insurers after a royal commission-style probe found the Wivenhoe Dam was mismanaged and that a cover-up attempted to conceal the truth.

The Floods Commission of Inquiry's finding that the engineers who operated Australia's largest dam failed to adopt the correct strategy to protect Brisbane from inundation for about 36 hours from Saturday, January 8, last year, has given a major boost to the hopes of thousands of victims.

The final report of the controversial floods inquiry highlights misleading evidence by the flood engineers, three of whom have been referred to Queensland's anti-corruption body, the Crime and Misconduct Commission, for further investigation and possible perjury-related charges.

The report opens the door for litigation, foreshadowed by Maurice Blackburn lawyers yesterday as "the largest class action in Australia's history".

The report concluded that further modelling by experts could quantify to what extent the breach of the manual worsened the flooding for Brisbane and Ipswich.

Supreme Court of Appeal judge Catherine Holmes SC found that "the possibility exists of at least some improvement in the flooding outcome for Brisbane and Ipswich" if the dam had not been mismanaged. This is a departure from earlier findings made by the inquiry's expert witness, hydrologist Mark Babister, that the flood engineers had achieved close to the best possible result in mitigating the flood.

Premier Anna Bligh embraced the report yesterday with a vow to implement more than 170 recommendations "lock, stock and barrel". Ms Bligh was forced to change the timing of both the state and local government elections after The Australian in late January revealed evidence of a breach of the manual and a cover-up, prompting the floods inquiry to hold an urgent round of new hearings, test the evidence and significantly rewrite its report. The cover-up almost succeeded.

Ms Bligh, who faces voters at next Saturday's state election, said the devastating finding on the dam's management in the crucial period before the flooding of Brisbane and Ipswich last January exposed Wivenhoe's owner-operator, the government-run SEQWater, to legal action.

However, she said the finding "does not of itself establish liability".

She promised that "any consideration of any claim will be required by the state to be managed by SEQWater in a way that would be required of a model litigant".

"People will be treated fairly, their claims will be fairly and openly assessed and where appropriate, mediated and settled," she said. "I hope those who suffered so terribly through these events will find some comfort in the knowledge that with this report the lessons that can be learnt will be learnt and Queensland will be a better prepared and safer place in future."

SEQWater has its own commercial insurance and Ms Bligh confirmed the organisation has cover "for liability against these sort of events". She said SEQWater and its insurer would "work through any claims made against them".

Lawyers preparing class actions on behalf of the thousands of property owners hit by the floods said the finding made it "crystal clear" there was negligence, and litigation was likely to be launched with fresh modelling by independent international experts.

The four flood engineers could not be contacted. It is understood they have been strongly advised by their lawyers to remain silent in the wake of the referral of three of them - Rob Ayre, John Tibaldi and Terry Malone - to the CMC for consideration of criminal charges. The fourth engineer, John Ruffini, was not referred.

Liberal National Party leader Campbell Newman backed Ms Bligh's pledge to implement all 177 recommendations of the report, putting the flood response above politics in the countdown to next Saturday's election. He pledged to match the $40 million Ms Bligh promised to local councils for flood mitigation and buybacks of vulnerable properties.

Rod Hodgson, a partner at Maurice Blackburn with more than 1500 flood-affected Queenslanders signed up for action, said the report's findings were striking and as a whole showed the mismanagement "must have made a difference" by worsening the flooding.

"Wivenhoe is Queensland's most dangerous piece of infrastructure and it's the responsibility of the state of Queensland to ensure that infrastructure is run properly," he said.

"If the action proceeds, it is likely to be the largest class action Australia has ever seen."

Mr Hodgson said the firm was commissioning new flood modelling with "greater accuracy and more reliability" than any conducted under the inquiry's terms of reference.

Slater & Gordon is also preparing for a potential class action, but commercial and project litigation general manager James Higgins warned any class action could be "complicated" by the referral of the three engineers to the CMC over their fictitious report of the flood event. "This referral has the potential to prevent any civil proceedings progressing until the conclusion of a potential criminal trial."

www.TheAustralian.com.au

17.3.12

Queensland flood failures damned

Wivenhoe Dam

THE Queensland government faces a multi-billion-dollar class action from the victims of the deadly 2011 floods after an inquiry found Brisbane's Wivenhoe Dam manual was breached and recommended three engineers be investigated by the corruption watchdog.

The lives of 35 people were lost and thousands of homes inundated during the massive floods in January last year.

A week before the state goes to the polls, Premier Anna Bligh was yesterday forced to acknowledge the final report by the Floods Commission of Inquiry may lead to long legal disputes for the government and the government-owned dam operator Seqwater.

Commissioner Cate Holmes' damning report recommended the Crime and Misconduct Commission should investigate whether Terry Malone, John Tibaldi and Robert Ayre - engineers who were in charge of the dam in the lead-up to the devastating floods - had misled the inquiry.

The report also recommended a shakeup of council and emergency services preparation for future flood events, including a property buy-back program in areas that are particularly vulnerable to regular flooding, the introduction of severe restrictions on development in areas of very high flood risk, an immediate flood study of the Brisbane River and a mechanism for prospective purchasers of a property to find its flood risk.

Ms Holmes said it was clear the government did not do enough to act when heavy rainfall was predicted.

"The commission has found non-compliance with the manual under which the dam was to be operated," she said.

"What should not be overlooked is that the manual itself is ambiguous, unclear and difficult to use and was not based on the best, most current research and information."

Maurice Blackburn partner Rod Hodgson said the report had confirmed victims' suspicions and strengthened the case for a class action against the state government.

"Too much water was allowed to accumulate in Wivenhoe Dam and the strategy for water releases was botched," Mr Hodgson said.

"This extraordinary report says that, beyond any doubt, that dam was not operated the way it should have been."

Commissioner Holmes found Wivenhoe dam was operated in breach of the manual from 8am on January 8, until the evening of January 9, before Brisbane and Ipswich flooded. She found flooding in Brisbane and Ipswich could have been reduced to some degree if capacity in the dam had been freed up before the December deluge.

www.DailyTelegraph.com.au
17.3.12

Show me flood answers, demands Pisasale

Ipswich Mayor Paul Pisasale

IPSWICH didn't get the answers from the flood inquiry it needs to move on from last year's disaster, irate Mayor Paul Pisasale says.

"We've waited 14 months for something that could have been done less costly and in two months," the mayor said.

"It's cost us in excess of $3 million and for the people of Ipswich, we didn't get the answers we wanted. From my point of view there were two things the people of Ipswich needed for closure. The first is, was Wivenhoe managed properly. All they did was persecute three engineers who didn't answer questions properly."

"They have been made sacrificial lambs."

He said the second issue was people were let down by insurance companies quibbling over the flood definition and taking months to address flood victims' problems.

"Now the insurance companies are saying the flood inquiry exonerated them. You've got to be joking," he said.

He said Ipswich City Council had generally been cleared in the final report issued yesterday.

"There's always room for improvement in how we respond to natural disasters, but overall the council's response has been judged to have been handled well based on the resources the organisation had available at the time.

"Ipswich has been recognised for its best practice mapping of stormwater management and will review all recommendations."

www.QT.com.au

17.3.12

Financial floodgate is opened over 2011 Brisbane River flood

Ipswich CBD looking North-West.
Riverlink top right.

THE Queensland Flood Commission delivered hope to flood victims who lost homes and businesses when it yesterday ruled that engineers failed to follow the Wivenhoe Dam operation manual.

Three of the dam's engineers are now set to face a CMC inquiry over their testimony before the inquiry.

Many Ipswich flood victims are expected to join class action lawsuits after the commission's findings. Lawyers are set to argue that the dam was operated negligently and that thousands of homes should have been saved from the January 2011 flood.

The Ipswich City Council said it had been "generally exonerated" of any wrong-doing by the inquiry.

The findings forced Premier Anna Bligh to admit the Queensland Government is now exposed to massive class action lawsuits, with Goodna councillor Paul Tully - who was himself flooded out - calling for flood victims to sign up to a class action.

Cr Tully said the report lays the foundation for a multi-billion dollar claim against Seqwater and the government.

"I am encouraging all flood victims to sign up for a class action to force the government to the negotiating table or face an expensive legal battle in court," he said.

"Whichever government is in power in a week's time could be facing a multi-billion dollar payout to thousands of residents in Brisbane and Ipswich."

Legal firm Maurice Blackburn and its financial backer IMF Australia are holding a meeting in Goodna on Monday night to speak to flood victims wanting to sign up to the class action.

Maurice Blackburn partner Rod Hodgson said: "The findings confirmed what many already suspected - too much water was allowed to accumulate in Wivenhoe, and the strategy for water releases was botched.

"The dam operators did not release enough water early enough and that meant far too much was released later on. The operators failed to take account of rainfall forecasts at key times."

Around 1500 flood victims have signed up to their class action so far.

Ms Bligh and LNP leader Campbell Newman both said they would implement all of the Commission's 177 recommendations.

Ms Bligh acknowledged there could be long and expensive legal disputes ahead for the state government

Seqwater said it did not intend to comment on the report until they have considered the report in detail.

The Maurice Blackburn meeting will be held at the Goodna State School Community Hall at Stanley St starting at 7pm Monday.

Recommendations

Ipswich City Council has been ordered to carry out its own flood study of the Brisbane River catchment as soon as possible.

Online databases of accurate flood information should be available on council websites, allowing the public to conduct searches on parcels of land.

Upgrading the Brisbane River crossings between Wivenhoe Dam and Colleges Crossing should be investigated.

www.QT.com.au

17.3.12

Lawyers prepare for class action over 2011 Brisbane River flood

LAWYERS representing flooded Queenslanders are gearing up for a potential class action, ordering independent modelling to back the inquiry's suggestion Brisbane's flood peak could have been reduced.

Commissioner Cate Holmes's final report found Wivenhoe Dam's operators breached their manual by failing to understand which of its flood mitigation strategies were being used at different points during the crisis.

But she said, regardless of their mindsets, the engineers released amounts of water consistent with the manual's strategies and it was unclear whether they would have operated the dam any differently had they followed the rulebook.

"There is, it is obvious, plenty of scope for argument about whether adherence to the manual strategies would have made a difference to the way in which the flood engineers actually operated the dam; but the possibility certainly exists that they would have responded more quickly to the developing conditions of January 9 had their mindset been one of applying strategy W3," Justice Holmes wrote, referring to the emergency release strategy that prioritises protecting Brisbane from inundation.

"Ascertaining the practical result of acting more quickly also is subject to the uncertainties inherent in the modelling; but again, the possibility exists of at least some improvement in the flooding outcome for Brisbane and Ipswich."

Rod Hodgson, a partner at Maurice Blackburn, which represents about 1500 flood-affected Queenslanders, said he would commission independent modelling of the flood to demonstrate the likely effect of the engineers' errors.

The modelling would have "greater accuracy and more reliability" than any conducted under the inquiry's terms of reference and any litigation would flow from whatever the science revealed, he said.

"The findings as to the breach of the operations manual . . . together with the suggestions -- loose as they are -- that it made a difference to flood levels downstream of Wivenhoe, support a class action being more likely than not.

"Our view is the report, as a whole, demonstrates that it (the breaches of the manual) must have made a difference."

Slater & Gordon commercial and project litigation general manager James Higgins flagged his firm's potential class action could be "complicated" by the referral of three dam engineers - Robert Ayre, Terrence Malone and John Tibaldi - to the Crime and Misconduct Commission over their allegedly fictitious report of the flood event.

"This referral has the potential to prevent any civil proceedings progressing until the conclusion of a potential criminal trial," Mr Higgins said. "Given the length and complexity of the report, and the substantial work conducted by the commission in preparing it, it is only appropriate to consider the report fully before forming any conclusions about potential legal action."

Mr Hodgson said the CMC referral presented no complications for his firm.

www.TheAustralian.com.au

17.3.12

Accused in a corner but choice was theirs

Wivenhoe Dam during the 2011 flood.

AT some point soon after the devastating floods of January last year, the engineers who operated Wivenhoe Dam faced a choice. They could own up. Or they could cover up.

Owning up to a breach of the manual - effectively, admitting to an operation of the dam that did not follow the strict written procedure - would have opened the door to a wave of recrimination.

Full story: www.TheAustralian.com.au

17.3.12

Families left high and dry on Struggle Street at Goodna

Jessalyn Beaumont, her mother Sue
 and father Frank outside their flood-hit
 Enid Street home in Goodna yesterday.

TINA Trost would sell up from Enid Street, Goodna, if she had half a chance and so would her friend, Sue, at No 3.

Yesterday, as the final report of the Queensland floods commission came down, they were dealing with life 14 months after a disaster that wrecked their street, their homes, traumatised the kids and left them wondering how they would ever get back to normal again.

For Mrs Trost, 39, it's the small things that grate most. With downstairs of their highset weatherboard home still to be fixed, she lives with husband Malcolm and their four children all a-jumble in the rebuilt upper level.

"It just doesn't feel homey anymore," Mrs Trost sighed, as she prepared for the 11-year-old twins, Annie and Abi, to arrive home from school with Thomas, 14, and Molly, 16.

"We got given some furniture and a few other things . . . and we're really grateful for them. It's just that it isn't the stuff you worked hard to get. It's not yours."

It's a good neighbourhood where the kids could wander from yard to yard without any bother and people got on.

Mrs Trost has lived in Enid Street since she was nine. Her parents used to be across the road, a few doors along from Sue and the Beaumont family.

Bad enough that they received only a few hours' warning of the churning flood on January 11 last year that engulfed every house in the street, some to the roofline.

Worse was to come when the insurance companies refused to pay. Her family, like many others, had general home and contents cover they thought would apply to flooding.

Their insurer begged to differ. "Just don't get me started," Mrs Trost said yesterday. "I try not to get angry because I know there are families who are worse off than ours. I stay tough because I don't want my my kids to see me fall apart."

The Beaumonts were in the same predicament - "completely let down", said Sue, 49. When she looks out from what's left of her front verandah, she can't see a house that wasn't hit by the flood.

She and husband Frank, 69, have had a particularly hard time since then. Their 19-year-old, Emma-Lee, has only just moved home to join 13-year-old Kaleb. But other sister Jessalyn, 17, can't bear the thought of returning to Enid Street. "She is too scared after what happened," Ms Beaumont said.

The personal toll has been heavy. "I lost my job as a cleaner because I had a breakdown, my family was split up because the kids had to go to other places and we've had all this damage to the house," she said.

"It's been a horrible time, especially for the kids. They had to stand there afterwards and watch everybody throw your life out into the street. It's got to do some damage."

Mr Beaumont said the insurer had turned down their claim on the basis the creek behind Enid Street didn't actually flood: it had merely "backed up", he was told, and that voided the cover.

To add insult to injury, the insurer wrote to him last month advising that in future he would have no such problems. The company had adopted new industry-wide guidelines standardising the definition of a flood, as it applied to coverage.

"Absolutely bloody woeful," said Mr Beaumont, who is now taking his case to the Financial Services Ombudsman.

"We've had very little assistance from the government, no assistance at all from the insurance company and if it hadn't been for the churches initially giving us a bit of a hand we would still be in struggle street."

His wife said she would love to sell up and start afresh, but how could they with the repair job only half done?

"I have lost my health and my job. Wouldn't you feel angry?" Mrs Beaumont asked.

"We just exist now and hope like hell that property values go up and we can find a way to get this place fixed and get out."

Her friend, Mrs Trost, reluctantly agreed. "I would rather not have come back at all after the flood," she said. "But there's a lot of people who are worse off . . . the poor plumber down the street has his place all gone . . . it's just boards and you look straight through it. He's living in a shed out the back."

www.TheAustralian.com.au

17.3.12

Queensland flood inquiry final report highlights

Highlights from the Queensland Floods Commission Final Report:

Flood plain management:

Brisbane, Ipswich and Somerset councils, and the Queensland government, should ensure that a flood study of the Brisbane River catchment is completed as soon as possible.

Councils and the Queensland government should display on their websites all flood mapping they have commissioned or adopted.

Councils that do not currently do so should consider an online database which allows the public to conduct a search on a parcel of land to find development approvals relevant to that parcel of land.

The Queensland government should consider a mechanism allowing prospective purchasers of property to find its flood risk.

Planning:

Councils should consider using a "limited development" zone in planning schemes for areas that have a very high flood risk. This would impose "severe restrictions on the ability of the land to be developed for urban purposes".

A loophole in state planning policy that allows developments to proceed even if they are not compatible with the flood risk should be tightened.

Essential Services:

Councils should educate property owners in areas identified as being at risk of backflow flooding.

Electricity distributors should consider installing connection points for generators to provide electricity supply to non-flooded areas that have had their supply cut during floods.

Land buy-backs and swaps:

Councils should consider implementing a property buy-back program in areas that are particularly vulnerable to regular flooding with help from the state and federal governments.

Insurance:

Letters notifying policy-holders that their claims have been denied should, at a minimum, state the information upon which the insurer has relied in making the decision.

Mining:

Mine operators should obtain all public seasonal forecasts issued by the Bureau of Meteorology relevant to the regions in which their operations are located.

Emergency response:

Emergency Management Queensland should simplify the process by which SES members gain recognition for prior qualifications so that unnecessary duplication of training can be avoided.

The operation of Wivenhoe and Somerset dams:

The Crime and Misconduct Commission (CMC) should investigate the conduct of flood engineers John Tibaldi, Robert Ayre and Terry Malone.

Seqwater should ensure that proper support and oversight mechanisms are put in place around both the substantive and procedural aspects of drafting flood event reports.

Other issues relating to the dams:

Seqwater should, in creating the new Wivenhoe and North Pine flood mitigation manuals, comprehensively consider the amount of discretion open to the flood engineers, among other issues.

www.BrisbaneTimes.com.au
16.3.12

Wivenhoe Dam engineers blamed as questions linger over floods

Bursting its banks ... Brisbane's Wivenhoe Dam last year.

THREE engineers who operated Queensland's main flood mitigation dam system are to be investigated by the state's Crime and Misconduct Commission following recommendations from the long-awaited official inquiry into last year's catastrophic floods.

The Queensland Floods Commission of Inquiry Report released yesterday found that a manual governing the operations of a key dam had been ''breached'' - raising the potential for flood victims to launch a class action against the dam operator, Seqwater.

The 658-page report confirmed the Wivenhoe Dam, which is supposed to mitigate flooding, was operated in ''breach of the manual'' from 8am on January 8 until the evening of January 9.

What went wrong ... engineer Robert Ayre

. 

Completed just over a week before the state goes to the polls, the report noted that there was inference in a series of documents and reports that the dam was not being operated according to the higher release strategy designed to reduce flooding in Brisbane during the key weekend of January 8-9.

However, the state government inquiry, headed by Justice Catherine Holmes with a budget of more than $15 million, stopped short of confirming the dam's management had caused the flood.

It said that it may ''well be right'' that the flood engineers managed the dam so that the flood mitigation effect was ''very close'' to the maximum.

Questions to answer ... engineer John Tibaldi.

The report recommended the Crime and Misconduct Commission should investigate the conduct of flood engineers, John Tibaldi, Robert Ayre and Terry Malone, in connection with the preparation of documents relating to the event - including a brief to the then water minister Stephen Robertson on January 17, 2011 and statements and oral testimony to the commission.

The Premier, Anna Bligh, referred the engineers to the CMC and vowed to implement the report's recommendations ''lock, stock and barrel''. She said that while the report found a breach of the operating manual, it did ''not of itself establish liability''.

Ms Bligh did, however, vow that Seqwater would be a model litigant and, in any claims made against it, people would ''be treated fairly and claims fairly and openly assessed and where appropriate mediated and settled''.

In a press conference after the report's release, Ms Bligh rejected any claims her government had not acted to reduce the level of water in the dam in light of predicted extreme rainfall.

Ms Bligh's political challenger, the Liberal National Party leader, Campbell Newman, said an LNP government would also implement all recommendations.

The inquiry made dozens of recommendations, including that the dam's operating manuals be rewritten, a comprehensive flood study of the Brisbane catchment be undertaken and changes made to planning laws as well as the possible implementation of a process to alert prospective purchasers of property to flood risks.

During the floods, 38 people died and the state was declared a natural disaster area. The cost of recovery has been estimated at more than $6.8 billion, according to the federal government.

An estimated 14,100 Brisbane properties were affected, while in Ipswich about 3000 homes were flood damaged. In Brisbane, the number of residential properties inundated totalled 1203.

For some of those who lost loved ones in the flood, the report is not expected to answer key questions. 

Peter Bromage's younger brother, Robert, 50, died after his vehicle was washed off a flooded road in Ipswich just west of Brisbane on January 11.

''The question we all ask is why did he end up in the water. I spend most of my time thinking about it,'' he said yesterday.

www.SMH.com.au
17.3.12

Flood inquiry's final report paves way for estimated $2 billion in legal payouts to flood victims

Premier Anna Bligh announces
 Seqwater will act as a "model litigant".

QUEENSLANDERS are set to pay for a multibillion-dollar compensation claim as thousands of flood victims look likely to receive large, fuss-free legal payouts for losses in the January 2011 floods. 

With Australia's largest class action now looming, the potential payout bill for the state is conservatively estimated at beyond $2 billion.

The expected lawsuit follows the flood inquiry's final report which has proven an explosive and potentially expensive revelation for the State Government just one week before the state poll.

While public officials have been left largely unscathed, three engineers - Terry Malone, John Tibaldi and Robert Ayre - now face a grilling from the crime watchdog on whether they created a fraudulent report and perjured themselves before the inquiry.

The crucial finding by Commissioner Cate Holmes that the engineers breached the dam manual on January 8-9 fuels a move by lawyers Maurice Blackburn to sue Seqwater.

Premier Anna Bligh, in a possible attempt to head off the class action, revealed yesterday Seqwater would now act as a "model litigant" if individuals approached for compensation claims.

"What that means is that you are required to fairly assess the claims, and that you are required to mediate the claims wherever possible rather than drag people through the courts," she said.

Ms Bligh said Seqwater had commercial insurance to protect against disasters which would help cover the claims. All Queenslanders will foot the bill through increased insurance premiums.

It is believed many flood-affected residents will opt to pursue the class action rather than settle out of court in the hope of much larger payouts, costing taxpayers even more.

Rod Hodgson, principal of law firm Maurice Blackburn, said a class action was "more likely than not".

It was now "crystal clear the report laid blame at the feet of Seqwater" for mismanagement of Wivenhoe Dam, he said.

The firm expected the number of victims to sign up to the "no win, no fee" action, currently involving about 1500 people, would now "grow dramatically".

For more analysis on the flood inquiry's final report grab a copy of The Saturday Courier-Mail

The scale and prospects of the action hinge on the value of independent flood modelling data, to be commissioned by the law firm and not expected to be available for some months.

This investigation, to be bankrolled by litigation funder IMF and triggering a global search for independent expert hydrologists, would be "complex, time-consuming and expensive", Mr Hodgson said.

Litigants will have to disprove the inquiry's finding the dam engineers achieved close to the best possible outcome in the handling of the dam.

The three dam engineers who controlled Wivenhoe during the floods are believed to be shocked by their referral to the CMC.

The inquiry heard allegations earlier this year the engineers did not follow the dam manual on water releases.

www.CourierMail.com.au
17.3.12

Flood report 'frustrating' for Ipswich

2011 flood in Limestone St Ipswich CBD.

THE floods inquiry's report has let down people in the devastated city of Ipswich, the city's mayor says.

About 1500 homes in Ipswich, west of Brisbane, were flooded after the Bremer River broke its banks on January 10, 2011.

Mayor Paul Pisasale said the inquiry process had taken more than a year and cost millions of dollars in lawyers' fees.

"What Ipswich was looking for, after working for 14 months to get ourselves back on track .. was a sense of closure and some understanding of what happened.

"I don't think we got that.

"It's very frustrating and a very costly exercise which has handed down recommendations that could have been done in a month.''

Mr Pisasale said Ipswich Council went into the commission with nothing to hide and had been completely exonerated.

"All I know is that I've spent 14 months of lawyers at a cost of more than $3 million to my city to tell me that Ipswich came out as a shining light,'' he said.

Brisbane City Council Lord Mayor Graham Quirk said he would implement all the report's recommendations that are relevant to council if he is re-elected at the upcoming local government elections.

"I think the people of Brisbane would expect nothing less from me,'' he said.

"... The fact that this report has come about after a massive amount of investigation and evidence (means) it would be silly to do otherwise.''

The Local Government Association of Queensland (LGAQ) said it was grateful the commission had largely praised councils

"We still strongly believe that local government did as well as it could,'' executive director Greg Hallam said.

He admitted land planning schemes had been lacking.

"We need to do better. I don't think there's any getting away from that,'' he said.

www.TheAustralian.com.au

16.3.12