Councillor Cahill’s Corner

I trust everyone had an enjoyable Festive Season with loved ones. The   absence of hot, humid weather meant ideal temperatures to relax and catch up with family and friends.

The rain certainly made it a different Festive Season in our region, especially after almost 10 years of drought. But let’s spare a thought for people in the Dalby, Chinchilla, Condamine, St George, Warwick, central Queensland and Burnett areas where major flooding has resulted in a heartbreaking start to 2011.

The Christmas/New Year floods in Queensland are a disaster on a massive scale – a disaster covering an area larger than New South Wales. In fact, this disaster will have repercussions on a state and national level for quite a few years. The impact can not only be measured by the cost of repairing physical damage to private homes, farms, businesses and community infrastructure. It must also be measured in terms of the cost of ruined crops, lost production and revenue from mines and industry and lost tourism revenue. On top of this, there is the social impact. Every ruined crop means higher prices for fruit, veges and other food items for all Australians. There is also the strain placed on emergency services, SES volunteers and support agencies. And let’s not forget the emotional cost in the trauma experienced by the many thousands of flood victims. All up – millions of dollars. No! Billions of dollars.

As they did with the Victorian Bushfire Appeal, Australians from all walks will dig deep to help with donations of cash, foodstuffs, furniture, appliances or clothes. It’s what we, as a nation, do when our mates need help.

One thing I did become aware but which has received almost no media attention is a donation to the Flood Appeal by the Commonwealth Bank. I don’t agree with some of the fees charged by the big banks and other financial institutions and I’m not trying to plug one organisation but I do believe in praise where praise is due. The Commonwealth Bank has donated $1million to the Flood Appeal. Well done! Perhaps some other financial institutions have donated similar amounts and, if that is the case, I regret not mentioning this and extend the same praise – well done!

While the Toowoomba Regional Council area did not suffer flooding to the extent of our western neighbours or central Queensland areas, the heavy, prolonged rain has caused significant damage to important infrastructure. A preliminary appraisal suggests about $12 million damage to the region’s roads.

Council workers (many of whom returned from leave) have been busy repairing damage but we must understand that repairs are carried out on a priority basis. This also means that some scheduled capital works projects may be delayed or postponed due to the strain on resources resulting from urgent repair works.  The next time you’re driving on a rain-damaged road and think council is taking its time to repair the damage, just remember that council is repairing damage as quickly as possible with available resources.                                   

If you have an emergency regarding council infrastructure such as roads, water sewerage or other services during heavy rain, or at any other time, please call council’s after hours emergency number on 1800 626 198. The operator will co-ordinate staff to attend to the emergency as quickly as possible. For emergencies during normal working hours, it is best to call your nearest council service centre. 

Councillor Bill Cahill