Projects not related to disaster postponed

Sydney Morning Herald

Monday January 24, 2011

Josephine Tovey BRISBANE with Marissa Calligeros

NON-FLOOD related projects and upgrades in Brisbane 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.The lord mayor, Campbell Newman, has ruled out the possibility of a council levy on ratepayers. He said yesterday he would instead be delaying or cutting projects over the next few years to pay for the clean-up and repair bill.Disaster recovery payments are driving a wedge in Brisbane's flood-ravaged suburbs as residents claim $1000 in federal disaster relief after having electricity to their homes cut off for 48 hours, while others who lost everything have been ruled ineligible for other payments.There is a $48,000 means test for payments, including the state government's Essential Services Safety and Reconnection Scheme grant of up to $5000, or the structural assistance grant of up to $14,200.Life in Brisbane is slowly returning to normal for most people. Te first round of the clean-up was completed over the weekend.Every street has now had at least one council pick-up and more than 150,000 tonnes - six months' worth of rubbish and debris - has been removed and placed in landfills. The evacuation centres are empty. Bus services are now running normally and all but three government schools, wrecked in the floods, will reopen this week for the new school year.The council, which has an annual budget of $2.8 billion, has yet to put a figure on its own damages but it is expected to be many hundreds of millions of dollars.The replacement of Brisbane's ferry terminals, half of which were badly damaged or destroyed during the river peak, is expected to cost up to $100 million. Rebuilding the floating Riverwalk will also cost around $40 million."[Rebuilding] will see projects that I have committed to in local communities or more broadly across the city being cancelled," Cr Newman said yesterday.The lord mayor 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 buy 207 houses but only 45 homeowners took up the offer by the time the flood hit.Cr Newman said he hoped to expand the scheme in future with the help of the federal and state government. "I do want to see, down the track ... out of this royal commission a recommendation and the implementation of three-way government funding," he said.Volunteering efforts across the city are also being scaled back as the clean-up phase ends and people turn to rebuilding their homes.Just over 100 volunteer tradesmen will be deployed by the council this week to assist with home rebuilding and repairs.The Brisbane River is still brown and thick with silt a week after reaching its peak. The silt is slowing the usual processing time of the city's water supplies. The Tugun desalination plant continues to make-up the shortfall in drinking water for Brisbane, Ipswich and other areas.Several waterfront buildings remain closed in the CBD, including the Stamford Plaza Hotel.Police are investigating two separate discoveries of human remains in and around the Lockyer Valley at the weekend.Last night detectives and forensic experts were examining a new discovery at Lowood, one day after a resident found what is believed to be human remains at Murphys Creek. Nine people are still missing.BusinessDay ��� Pages 2 and 3THE STATISTICS11,490 Number of homes in Brisbane inundated14,296 Number of homes in Brisbane partially flooded150,000 tonnes Amount of rubbish collected23,517 Number ofvolunteers registered with councilWORST AFFECTEDSUBURBSBrisbane City 1359 homesSt Lucia 1189West End 1184Rocklea 1144Graceville 644Source: Brisbane City Council.

© 2011 Sydney Morning Herald

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