Two major industry groups – overseeing Brisbane’s port and rivers, respectively – say both the Queensland and Australian governments must support successful flood mitigation projects and not concentrate on flood payments alone.$150 million – and possibly $300 million – in urgent flood recovery paymentsThe Queensland and NSW governments will each receive $75 million for immediate disaster recovery, as well as much-needed funding for future disaster risk mitigation.for flood recovery.
Port of Brisbane chief executive Neil Stephens said the $2.65 million it has invested in two flood mitigation projects since 2015 was money well spent. “We would love to see local, state and federal governments prioritise this because it’s good for the environment and, at scale, could make a material impact on the damage mud and silt from the river can cause during flood events.”He said the solutions to the problems revealed in the 2011 floods were demonstrated to work in 2022.
Healthy, Land and Water chief executive officer Julie McLellan repeated her call to “flip the funding model” so governments paid for proactive flood mitigation instead of disaster payments alone. How the spoon drain looks further upstream where no work has been completed beside Annerley Football Club.Some nearby residents said the work saved their homes from floods, while others further upstream at Annerley said they experienced first-time flooding.