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Thursday June 20, 2013

What we're talking about

  • Dale Mellor on Meninga: "I did something wrong" Finally a journo that treats everyone equal and calls it how it is! Well done. Great article. more
  • Bob Lord on Meninga: "I did something wrong" I'm so jealous. These blokes have all the fun while I would struggle to ever be awake at 1.00 am anymore.Onya Mal - keep ... more
  • it was all a dream on Meninga: "I did something wrong" a father and coach of elite sporting team to be found illegally behind the bar in notorious sleazy youth nightspot in the ... more
  • Luke Townson on Meninga: "I did something wrong" This article just proves how much of a legend Malreally is. What a character. Great that the Queensland team are relaxed ... more
  • Bob Lord on Beattie calls on Hawke Another Tony Abbott Carbon Tax lie has come to the fore with China starting to institute Carbon trading schemes. Tony once ... more
  • Bob Lord on Beattie calls on Hawke RichardI'm certainly aware that Tony is a precious little poo and not up to the harsh world of politics. more
  • Richard on Beattie calls on Hawke Bob, if you want to help improve the ALP's chances of winning at least one seat, it would do you and the PM well to stop ... more
  • kernel fudpucker on Beattie calls on Hawke Gee I wonder if September will bring in the New World Order and the Satanic global leader, The Antichrist! more
  • Bob Lord on Meagher killer gets life Sometimes I don't get it. The Judge says "I have no choice but to sentence you ....."I'd be saying "It gives myself and the ... more
  • Bob Lord on Holden strives to slash This is just responsible standard business practice. A company going through tough times works through the issues that ... more
  • Richard on Holden strives to slash Australias Toxic FutureThe gap needs to be reduced between what it costs to build and import a car and what it costs to ... more
  • Commerce American Style on Holden strives to slash First they send American multinational companies to crush the small to medium Australian companies. That reduces competition ... more
  • Bob Lord on Beattie calls on Hawke DEEP UNEASE IN COALITION RANKSWhile they all look calm on the outside as they seemingly ride a blessed wave of media support ... more
  • James W on NSW Rugby League scandal karma, I think the less thinking you do, the better. more
  • CRY FREEDOM on Beattie calls on Hawke Bob Lord, it good to see that you have source nutter web sites to gather your information. more
  • CRY FREEDOM on Beattie calls on Hawke Bob Lord, if it is true what the flying pigs have to say that the polls show that Abbott is most deeply unpopular Opposition ... more
  • bazza on Beattie calls on Hawke The liberal party announce today for the good of public health. that when they win the election they will lock up all ... more
  • Mike Young on NSW Rugby League scandal Does anyone know what is happening re the Ben Teo allegations/case? Seems to have gone awfully quiet. Brisbane police seem ... more
  • Bob Lord on Rudd mistaken for PM Oh what a pity I'm busy today. This has been a scream. First Peter B - "make him stop, make him stop" Then Gayle in her ... more
  • Bob Lord on NSW Rugby League scandal James WLOL - you're right.QPS have really dropped the ball with the Burgess arrest. Focus, lads, focus. more

Wivenhoe caused unnecessary damage

Posted by: Staff writers | 21 January, 2013 - 12:19 PM
Flood map

4BC News: Queensland's Wivenhoe dam was negligently operated during the 2011 floods and that caused widespread, unnecessary damage, a litigation funder has found.

IMF Australia says its own investigations had determined the dam was not operated competently, and as a direct result downstream properties suffered unnecessary flooding.

IMF Australia executive director John Walker on Monday told AAP he was now extremely confident that a class action by flood victims would proceed.

Investigations had determined the dam "was not operated to the standard expected of a reasonably competently dam operator in all of the circumstances", IMF Australia said.

It said independent US experts engaged to carry out the investigation had identified two key failures:

- a failure to use rainfall forecasts in making decisions about (dam) operating strategies; and

- a failure to preserve a reasonable amount of Wivenhoe's storage capacity to provide optimum protection of urbanised areas from inundation.

In a release to the Australian Securities Exchange on Monday, IMF Australia said:

"Based on these investigations, IMF has formed an opinion that material flooding of a large number of properties down river from the Wivenhoe dam would not have occurred had Wivenhoe been operated during the flood event to the standard expected of a reasonably competent dam operator in all of the circumstances."

Mr Walker said the investigation's findings marked the end of the due diligence process for the class action being pursued by the law firm Maurice Blackburn.

He said the next stage was to formally establish the level of loss among affected residents, and if there was sufficient interest to proceed with the class action.

But Mr Walker said he was extremely confident it would go ahead.

He said 2000 flood victims were already on board, and 2000 others had expressed an interest.

The next step will be contacting all residents in areas the IMF investigation identified as having suffered unnecessary flooding.

"We'll be writing to all of the flood-affected people who we think have a claim," he told AAP.

"A lot of those people are already involved. But there's a lot who either have not been aware, or haven't decided what they want to do."

He said he could not provide an exact figure for the number of properties IMF believed had suffered unnecessary flooding.

But he said maps of affected areas, "all along the river", would be released at a press conference in Brisbane at 11am (AEST) on Monday.

"We're currently in the process of using Google technology and maps ... to identify how many there are.

"But the state knows how many there are, and certain instrumentalities know how many there are."

In March last year, Queensland's floods inquiry found Wivenhoe dam operator - the government-owned SEQwater - breached the dam's operating manual during devastating floods in Brisbane, Ipswich and surrounds in January 2011.

Commissioner Catherine Holmes found the dam was operated in breach of its manual from 8am on January 8 until the evening of January 9, before Brisbane and Ipswich flooded.

But she also noted the manual was "ambiguous, unclear and difficult to use, and was not based on the best, most current research and information".

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 that contributed to the floods.

Ms Holmes also found there was evidence three dam engineers had colluded to mislead the inquiry about how they managed the dam during the flood crisis.

But the corruption watchdog, the Crime and Misconduct Commission (CMC), later exonerated the engineers of misleading the inquiry.

The CMC agreed that the dam was operated in breach of its manual.

But it found ambiguities in the document explained the engineers' inconsistent statements and descriptions of what they did during the flood crisis.

However the CMC was only asked to look at documents the engineers prepared about their actions and their oral testimony to the inquiry.

It did not look at whether their management of the dam's gates during the flood crisis could amount to a criminal offence or official misconduct.

IMF Australia and Maurice Blackburn contend that too much water was allowed to accumulate in Wivenhoe, and the strategy for water releases during the crisis was botched.

Maurice Blackburn has previously said any class action against the Queensland government would probably seek compensation in excess of $1 billion.

Blog comments Your Say

  • No legal background for me whatsoever Colene but near as I can tell if people were given the wrong advice then they are entitled to sue the person who gave them that advice if they choose to do so.
    In this case it is so much easier to join the no win, no fee class action.

    Bob Lord Tuesday 22 January, 2013 - 2:17 PM

  • Colene

    Stating that no one knew the politics of the engineers is not politicising something.
    The houses have been there for decades in some instances so saying that I was laying the blame on CanLie is nonsense as there have been many councils both in Ipswich and Brisbane in that time.
    It is the Queensland taxpayer who will be paying for this lawsuit, whoever is in charge of government at the time is irrelevant.
    Whoever was in charge of the councils and all levels of governments at the time of the floods is also irrelevant. Last time I heard weather was unpredictable.

    Bob Lord Tuesday 22 January, 2013 - 2:13 PM

  • Bob, as I have heard said, you cant educate mugs.

    I for one have better things to do with my time than try to educate you.

    Colene Tuesday 22 January, 2013 - 2:10 PM

  • Mr Lord, why would you with your touted legal background, suggest to these people that they sue the ICC when they acted on information given to them and their local government instrumentalities by the State Government.

    Colene Tuesday 22 January, 2013 - 2:06 PM

  • I will pass this info along, it will be interesting to see what the response is as these people have been to the Insurance Ombudsman as dircted by the Ipswich City Council.

    Amy Tuesday 22 January, 2013 - 2:01 PM

  • What would have happened to the Bisbane and all of these areas that were flooded if the Wivenhoe had of failed and the saftey drainage had of been released uncontrolably because the capacity was being pushed far beyond it's holding capacity and was fast approaching the built in fail safe situation. Was this dilemma the fault of the insurers, of the household insurers or the Government's insurer. Bob I would bet that if you had of been in this situation and uninsured as you admit you would be the first to screaming unfair and joining a civil suit as the ones you snarl at now, just shows you for what you truly are.

    mick Tuesday 22 January, 2013 - 1:21 PM

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