Projects axed as flood bill soars

The Age

Monday January 24, 2011

By JOSEPHINE TOVEY BRISBANE

PROJECTS and upgrades in Brisbane not related to floods will be shelved as the council begins to tally the financial impact of the disaster on the city's budget, with two infrastructure repair projects already costed at $140 million.Lord mayor Campbell Newman has ruled out the possibility of a council levy on ratepayers, and said yesterday he would instead delay or cut projects over the next few years to pay for the clean-up and repair bill.Life in the Queensland capital is slowly returning to normal for most people, with the first round of the clean-up completed over the weekend.Every street has now had at least one council pick-up and more than 150,000 tonnes, or six months worth, of rubbish and debris, has been removed and placed in landfill. The evacuation centres have emptied, bus services are running to normal and all but three government schools will reopen today for the new school year.The council, which has an annual budget of $2.8 billion, is still yet to put a figure on its own damage bill, but it is expected to be hundreds of millions of dollars.Cr Newman also confirmed that council offers to buy back the most flood-prone properties were still on the table. Since 2006, the council has offered to purchase 207 houses, but only 45 home owners took up the offer by the time the flood hit. Cr Newman said he hoped to expand the scheme with the help of the federal and state governments.

© 2011 The Age

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