Premier Campbell Newman attends a disaster co-ordination meeting in Bundaberg last week. Picture: Mark Calleja Source: The Courier-Mail
LOCAL government leaders have backed Premier Campbell Newman's call for flooded roads and other infrastructure to be rebuilt to higher standards after seeing recently completed projects torn apart in last week's deluge.
The Courier-Mail yesterday reported Mr Newman's concern that National Disaster Relief and Recovery Arrangements had limited scope for improvement and mostly allowed only for infrastructure to be rebuilt to the same standard.
He described it as "insanity" to do the "same wrong thing time and time again".
"We will save money in the longer term if we build things in a different way in these areas that continue to get hit," the Premier said yesterday.
"I think the logic is absolutely compelling."
Gympie Mayor Ron Dines said he shared the Premier's frustration after seeing $38 million worth of repairs made after the 2011 floods all but washed away over the Australia Day long weekend.
"We're wasting our time in this country if we don't have that betterment rather than just constantly making repairs," Cr Dines said.
"It's a false investment to be repairing roads to their original standard," Cr Dines said.
In Gayndah, the town's water pump was rebuilt on the banks of the Burnett River last year, despite being washed away in 2011.
Last week, it was destroyed again - just four weeks after it was commissioned - robbing the 2000 residents of a clean water supply.
Two bridges taken out by floodwaters in Monto have left residents with a two-hour diversion into the town.
Local councillor Paul Lobegeier said the community had sought to improve those connections after the last floods but was told there was no funding.
"You have to replace same with same," he said.
Fraser Coast Mayor Gerard O'Connell said 10 roads rebuilt after the 2011 floods were now destroyed or damaged.
"For my money, there is now an opportunity to improve much-needed and important infrastructure, and the discussion on how that happens, and how it's funded, should happen," he said.
"There would be a significant cost to flood-proofing some rural and coastal roads, and we need to be practical about what we spend ratepayers' and taxpayers' money on."
Rockhampton Regional Council CEO Evan Pardon said the funding provided to the city after the 2010-11 floods "restricted the replacement of assets and there was no opportunity to replace services or infrastructure at a different location or to relocate them to higher ground level".
Despite the concerns raised about the limitations of the National Disaster Relief and Recovery Arrangements, federal Minister for Queensland's Flood Recovery Joe Ludwig said the guidelines were not set in stone.
"There has been and always will be guidelines for betterment," Senator Ludwig said.
"What we did in the National Partnerships Agreement was shift an entire town (Grantham) to better protect the residents. We spent a significant amount of money to do that, but we did that."
He said he was awaiting a call from Mr Newman about establishing a new NPA for the 2013 flood.
"We provided $6 billion in total to rebuild Queensland after the 2010-11 event, and we will stand shoulder to shoulder with them again to ensure Queensland is recovered," Senator Ludwig said.
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