As the Anniversary of the 2022 February Floods passes once again, there are Brisbane residents still living in fear as they witness continued inaction and ill-preparedness for future rain events from the current LNP Council.
Councillor Jared Cassidy, and Labor Lord Mayor candidate Tracey Price, both saw the devastation left behind first-hand. Councillor Cassidy had boots on the ground from early in the rain event, assisting in the coordination of relief services or clearing out neighbours yards.
Meanwhile, Mrs Price was watching her own small business sewing shop fill with water – a sight which eventually led her to joining the race for Brisbane’s mayoralty.
“I know first-hand the effects of flooding and the lack of drainage infrastructure and maintenance by the LNP Council – it’s part of why I’m running to be Brisbane’s Lord Mayor.
Like many, my small business was affected by the 2022 floods, and when I reached out to Council in need of support, I received a very poor response.
I know I am not alone in my experience, and it’s disgraceful to think about all the residents around Brisbane who are still dealing with the impacts.”
Councillor Cassidy’s experience of seeing hundreds of homes ruined in his ward, while witnessing the real-life impacts of the severe budget cuts made to drainage and disaster management by the administration. He and his 4 co-Councillors in Opposition to the LNP Council were powerless in their voting numbers to attempt to have any funds reinstated to support flood prevention or even additional sand bag machines.
Because of this, Labor’s Climate Resilience policy has a laser focus on reinstating budget funds back into the drainage and flood works cut by the LNP:
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- Increase the suburban drainage budget by $2.8m a year
- Increase funding for new stormwater drainage by $6.3m a year
- Increase the maintenance funding on stormwater systems by $3.5m a year
- Double the funding for desilting drains to $1.6m a year
- Clean and maintain more waterways, targeting problem areas.
- Double the vegetation management budget to $1.5m a year.
- Review City Plan to implement better standards for development in flood prone areas.
- Restrict development in known flood affected areas and increase development where it won’t affect flooding to deal with the housing shortage.
- Re-establish the flood buy-back scheme and invest $5 mil per year to offer voluntary buy-back of flood affected and low-lying homes.
- Better prepare Council and Brisbane to deal with the ongoing effects of climate change like floods and bushfires.
Tracey’s website has the full list of measures her Labor team have outlined in their Climate Resilience, as well as more information about Tracey and her plans to deliver more for Brisbane.
