Goodna flood cheats face justice

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IPSWICH flood cheats who claimed emergency money they weren't entitled to have been caught out.

In two separate cases, people had applied for the grants at a flood relief centre and been given hundreds of dollars.

They then went to other centres and reapplied for the grants, claiming they hadn't received any money when filling out the application forms.

Hayley Elena Lei, 27, received four payments of $510 each time in January last year during the crisis.

Lei legitimately applied for the Emergency Assistant Grant (EAG) on January 19 at a Redbank Plains flood shelter and received a $510 payout.

She then went to a Goodna shelter on January 29 and declared she hadn't received any money when applying for another grant.

On February 3, she went to two different shelters at Bundamba and Goodna and made the same fake claims.

All up she received $1530 she wasn't entitled to.

Police prosecutor Constable David Thiel said the offences were extremely serious because more needy people might have missed out.

Const Thiel said the generosity of the grants weren't there to be abused.

Lei pleaded guilty to three counts of fraud, was fined $1000 and ordered to pay $1530 restitution to the Queensland Government.

Lei's defence said she needed the money at the time to pay for rent and groceries and was under a great deal of stress after her property had been flooded.

The court heard Lei worked for an agency that handled debt collections.

In a separate case, Imeleta Brown, 32, claimed an extra $340 at a Riverview shelter on January 28 but had since paid it back. Brown, a mother of three, claimed she misread the paperwork and didn't know she had to declare if she had already received money.

She was fined $500.

Magistrate Virginia Sturgess said both Lei and Brown "weren't alone" by losing everything in the floods.

"There were a number of people who lost everything in the floods - you knew it was a one-off payment," Ms Sturgess said. "You are not alone in this situation."

www.QT.com.au

Awash with memories as exhibition looks into flooded past

Linda Pitt at the 'Floodlines' exhibition at the State Library.
The iPad shows 3D models of the suburbs inundated and the floodlines.

Say floods to a Brisbane resident and their mind will cast back to January 2011 but the river city has a much longer history of flooding.

That history is explored in the State Library of Queensland's new exhibition, aimed at helping visitors appreciate the full extent of contemporary and historical memories of Queensland's floods.

State librarian Janette Wright said Floodlines was about Queensland's people, their stories and the strength of community during floods, making sense of the past and celebrating the spirit of recovery.

"Floods and other disasters are an important part of life in this state and SLQ has a responsibility to collect material about these disasters creating a legacy for future generations," she said.

"Through this project, we have identified new treasures that have been conserved, digitised and displayed."

SLQ executive manager, learning and participation Linda Pitt said they were excited to offer a Queensland-first experience with the Floodlines Augmented Reflections exhibit.

"We're using augmented reality technology that allows us to create 3D simulations of, in this case, 14 suburbs around the greater Brisbane region," she said.

"The simulator allows people to inundate those particular regions by using a scroll bar that tracks dates and time in January 2011."

She said the simulation can also be accessed on people's smart phones and smart devices and they can pick particular suburbs to see the rise and fall of the Brisbane River.

Floodlines will run until August 19. For information on guided tours and special talks visit slq.qld.gov.au

http://www.couriermail.com.au/
12.4.12

Brisbane City Council flood reports muddy property sales

ADVICE: The best way for potential buyers to find
 out if a property had flooded is to ask the neighbours. 

BRISBANE City Council's Floodwise property reports have been accused of putting a dampener on home sales.

There are claims that the reports, which are designed to provide information about the flood risk of a property after last year's floods, have been responsible for scaring people off buying.

Nick Horgan recently put his Carina property, a prime development site, up for auction, but when no one turned up he rang a couple of developers who said that they had decided not to bid after checking the council's Floodwise report.

They had misinterpreted the report, believing the property had been under 1m of water during the 2011 floods.

The report actually says that while flood levels in January last year were 1.2m above sea level, his property was situated more than 3m above sea level. "The water came nowhere near our place," Mr Horgan said.

He said the reports were misleading. "The concept (of Floodwise) was good, but it was done on the heels of the Brisbane floods when everyone was jittery and on the heels of a downturn in the property market," Mr Horgan said.

He said the problem wasn't just lost sales.

"There would be a lot of people who have sold their property at deflated prices because of the flood or the possibility of a flood," he said.

Mr Horgan said he would prefer to see a topographic report that clearly showed the elevation of a property and where floodwaters came up to on a map of that particular property.

Real estate agent Chris Warren, from Remax Colonial, said the reports were difficult to understand.

"They are very confusing and we cannot explain to potential buyers what the situation exactly is with a property," Mr Warren said.

A Brisbane City Council spokesperson said the council was investigating 15 queries relating to disputes with its Floodwise information after the January 2011 floods.

Real Estate Institute of Queensland chief Anton Kardash said the increasing use and reliance on this type of information in the buying process meant guidelines needed to be developed to ensure the data was accurate and reliable.

Real estate watchdog and lawyer Tim O'Dwyer said the best way to find out if a property had flooded was to ask around.

"The most inexpensive and most reliable way to get flood information about any property is always to ask the neighbours," he said.

www.TheSundayMail.com.au

10.4.12

Newman Government at odds with Seqwater over flood inquiry response

THE Newman Government has fallen out with Seqwater bosses over their planned response to the flood inquiry.

The Courier-Mail can reveal that after the inquiry handed down its report last month, the dam operator drew up a press release that refuted some of the inquiry's findings and made no mention of the inquiry's referral of two of the organisation's employees to the Crime and Misconduct Commission.

Senior Seqwater officials last week took the document to Treasurer Tim Nicholls seeking his endorsement so they could make the document public, but he refused.

"The Government did not agree with certain elements of the draft media release, including the version of events put forward by Seqwater given the findings of the commission and testimony at the commission hearings,'' a spokesman said.

"The draft media release provided no mention of the fact that staff from Seqwater were referred to the CMC for investigation, meaning the release was not balanced.

"We don't think it's appropriate for a government authority to refute the findings, which the Government has accepted in full.''

The row comes as flood victims, insurance companies and class-action lawyers chasing compo payouts watch for signals from the new Government as to whether it will admit fault or force an expensive legal fight. 

The Premier is under pressure not to backtrack on a pre-election promise to treat flood victims fairly. 

His predecessor, Anna Bligh, on receiving the inquiry's report, similarly promised Seqwater would be a "model litigant''.

Mr Newman on Thursday said he stood by earlier statements that "all flood victims will be treated fairly and equitably''. He would not be drawn on whether the Government would set up an "ex-gratia'' scheme to compensate flood victims.

It is understood that Seqwater's own insurers backed the proposed media strategy. They could be on the hook for hundreds of millions of dollars if legal action proved the company was negligent in 2011. 

The Water Grid Manager, the parent body for Seqwater, said this week: "Given the circumstances, including the ongoing investigation by the CMC, Seqwater does not presently intend to make any public comment on the Commission of Inquiry Final Report.''

www.CourierMail.com.au
7.4.12

COMMENT: This is disgraceful.  What part of "model litigant" does Seqwater not understand?  It seems as if Seqwater - and its insurers - are driven by the almighty dollar and sheer greed as they fight the legitimate claims of flood victims.  Given this latest fiasco, it is time for heads to roll in Seqwater.  Seqwater CEO Peter Borrows could do worse than quietly step down to allow the likely upcoming class action to proceed in a fair and timely manner without the monotonous "we did nothing wrong" which pervaded the Floods Inquiry. - PaulGTully@gmail.com 

Engineers split over flood inquiry's referral of colleagues to CMC

Wivenhoe Dam

QUEENSLAND engineers have split over the flood inquiry's referral of three flood engineers to the Crime and Misconduct Commission for their conduct during the 2011 disaster.

The peak professional body, Engineers Australia, which represents about 19,000 Queensland engineers, has come out in defence of its three members, but some senior engineers, including one whose home was flooded, said its stance was "ill-advised".

The Courier-Mail can reveal that two weeks after the CMC referral investigators have yet to approach Wivenhoe Dam operator Seqwater, which holds crucial evidence of the engineers' actions.

Steven Goh, chairman of the Queensland division of peak body Engineers Australia, told members in a letter last week that he and EA's executive director Ian McEwan had "been in contact with the members directly involved to express our personal encouragement for them at what must be a very stressful period".

But chartered engineer Wayne Land, an EA member whose Chelmer home was damaged in the floods, said Mr Goh's and Mr McEwan's support for the flood engineers was "ill-advised".

"I think they should stay out of it. I really don't see what they can add," he said.

"It's a legal matter and it's inappropriate for the professional body to be helping them."

Hydrologist Max Winders, who warned in January of unresolved problems with the dams' operating manual, has also written to Mr Goh to complain.

"While I understand your concern about the reputations of the three engineers referred to the CMC, further inquiry would show that several other engineers should share the responsibility of what happened," he wrote.

"There were bureaucrats from other disciplines who should bear most of the responsibility.

"I suggest that EA should stand aside from what is likely to be a complex legal process unless it has new evidence to offer rather than opinions".

Mr Goh said the dam engineers had not been convicted of any charges and the CMC had not found they acted inappropriately in managing the dam.

"Every individual deserves the right to be considered innocent unless proved otherwise," he said.

EA has set up a subcommittee to review the inquiry's final report. "Any comments or feedback from members will be considered," Mr Goh said.

The CMC said it was still "reviewing" the referral from the floods inquiry of dam engineers Terry Malone, John Tibaldi and Robert Ayre over the alleged falsification of records of what they did in January 2011.

A senior Seqwater source said the company was surprised it had not yet received any requests for information from the CMC.

www.CourierMail.com.au

4.4.12

A living memory of the Queensland floods

An interactive exhibition profiling the memory of Queensland's 2011 floods and those dating back to the 19th century launches at the State Library of Queensland.

A vast collection of contemporary digital media and historical articles from the state library collection have been compiled for the State Library of Queensland's (SLQ) latest exhibition Floodlines.

Split across two exhibition spaces in the SLQ in Brisbane the Floodlines: a living memory exhibition explores the resilience of the Queensland community during and after the 2011 floods, while the Floodlines: 19th century Brisbane exhibition delves into the great floods of Brisbane's past, profiling the city as it was as early as 1887.

Historian and curator of 19th century Brisbane, Helen Gregory says the exhibition provides glimpses into the earliest floods that stand out in Brisbane's collective memory, and attempts to investigate why some are remembered more than others.

"In the corporate memory of Brisbane people, we talk about 'the' 1893 flood," that she says came "at a time of economic depression, when unemployment was high, and businesses were suffering.

"There were four floods in 1893, and none of them were much worst then the one in 1890, and that wasn't a lot worse than the one in 1887.

Ms Gregory says she was interested in exploring the collective experience of the community at the time of the 19th century flooding through the popular media of the day.

"I not only looked at the wonderful range of contemporary photographs, but I also looked at the way painters had treated the subject, both at the time and more recently; what writers, novelists and poets had said about it - and there's quite a rich literature about it, so it obviously made a considerable impression.

She says she was most fascinated to look into the lines of communication at the time of the 19th century flooding compared to the role modern telecommunications and social media has played in the recent 2011 floods.

"One of the most important early warnings [of the 1890's] was from a grazier up in the upper Brisbane valley. He had to send two stockmen to two different post offices to try to get a telegram to Brisbane that a huge flood was coming. Only one of them got through to a post office, the Courier Mail actually printed the telegram, but by then the city was already being flooded.

She says as a historian it raises all sorts of interesting questions about "how many of them subscribed to the newspaper."

Ms Gregory says residents in Queensland should not let "the great forgetting" of the more recent flooding events shape how they recover, remember, reflect or rebuild after the next.

Curators of the Floodlines: a living memory exhibition collaborated with number of organisations to create an interactive showcase of the stories before during and after as told by the community members themselves, local storytellers and the media.

Executive Manager of Learning and Participation with the SLQ Linda Pitt says the most exciting feature of the contemporary exhibition is the interactive flood mapping, which allows users to assess the levels of flooding across Brisbane City and surrounding suburbs using a smart phone device held over another element of the exhibit.

The SLQ have worked closely with a company specialising in the technology - called 'augmented reality mapping' - to develop an interactive reflection of Brisbane City, and the surrounding suburbs before, during and after the flood event. Users can scroll through the timeline to see the suburb at different stages of the flood.

"It takes the existing map and terrain data from the 2010/2011 flooding from Brisbane and the 14 surrounding suburbs to simulate the flooding experience.

"People will be able to bring their personal devices (smart phone, or smart tablet device) - download the free 'floodlines' app from the app store and use that to reflect on the flooding in their suburb.

Ms Pitt says although the focus is on the Brisbane River for the current exhibition, there are plans to take the exhibition to regional Queensland, and further develop the mapping data to include towns affected by the widespread flood event.

Curators from the State Library also collaborated with ABC Open for their 'Wall of Stories' feature of the Floodlines: a living memory exhibition, which featured content created by ABC Open producers for the Aftermath project.

Ms Pitt says it was important to draw on the wealth of knowledge and skill in the community for the exhibition to make it authentic.

The exhibition also features former Premier Anna Bligh's handwritten speech notes from the media briefings she held during the disaster.

Floodlines opens at the State Library of Queensland on Saturday April 7th and will remain open until August 19th 2012.

www.ABC.net.au

4.4.12

Wivenhoe Dam bosses holidayed as flood crisis deepened

CLASS ACTION BREWING:
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

Brisbane flood victims face compenation loss

THOUSANDS of victims of the Brisbane floods could be obliged to give a litigation financier up to 30 per cent of any compensation they receive -- even if that comes from a no-fault compensation scheme instead of a court case.

This risk has emerged from analysis of the funding agreements being used by litigation funder IMF (Australia) for its proposed class action over the flooding of Brisbane.

www.TheAustralian.com.au
31.3.12