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Legislative Council - Fifty-Second Parliament, First Session (52-1)
2011-03-10 Daily Xml
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FLOOD DAMAGE

The Hon. P. HOLLOWAY (15:04): I seek leave to make a brief explanation before asking—

Members interjecting:

The PRESIDENT: Order!

The Hon. P. HOLLOWAY: —the Minister for State/Local Government Relations a question about flood damage.

Leave granted.

The Hon. R.I. Lucas: He might do better if the answer were written for him.

The PRESIDENT: Order!

The Hon. P. HOLLOWAY: Like many members of this council, in recent weeks I have watched, with a mixture of horror and amazement, the media coverage of the catastrophic floods in southern Queensland, northern New South Wales and Victoria. The cyclonic winds and huge downpours of Cyclone Yasi across Queensland followed shortly after. Here in South Australia we have not been spared these forces. In early December, a massive downpour in the Clare and Gilbert valleys deluged some communities in that area, creating havoc and destroying important infrastructure. Will the minister update the house on developments following the unwelcome storm and flooding damage to those areas north of Adelaide before Christmas?

The Hon. B.V. FINNIGAN (Minister for Industrial Relations, Minister for State/Local Government Relations, Minister for Gambling) (15:05): Honourable members may recall that, on 7 and 8 December last year, heavy thunderstorm activity, including extremely heavy rains and strong winds, had an impact on much of the settled areas of South Australia. Lower Eyre Peninsula, northern Yorke Peninsula, the Riverland, Murraylands, Flinders Ranges, Mount Lofty Ranges and metropolitan Adelaide all received unseasonably heavy rains.

As the honourable member indicated, significant storm damage was experienced in some areas in the Gilbert and Clare valleys, and the towns of Stockport, Rhynie and Tarlee all bore the brunt of the storm's impact. I understand the previous minister, my honourable colleague, met with His Worship Allan Aughey, the Mayor of Clare & Gilbert Valleys Council, and the Chief Executive, Roy Blight, last month to get a first-hand update on the steps taken since the deluge in early December.

I am told the Mayor and the Chief Executive vividly described the extraordinary events of late last year, when late at night water levels rose very rapidly and came into people's houses, which must have been a complete shock for the people of Stockport where such events are certainly rare and unexpected. I am told the immediate emergency response was ably handled by the SES, with the help of police and local council officers. A trail of damage and destruction was left behind to houses, roads and local infrastructure such as bridges and culverts. In addition to the damage to council infrastructure, there was also damage to approximately 120 houses in the towns of Stockport, Riverton, Rhynie, Tarlee and surrounds.

I am please to report that the Local Government Disaster Fund was able to advance an emergency payment to the council of $250,000 on 13 December 2010 in response to the 7 and 8 December storms. The Local Government Disaster Fund was established in 1990 to help councils remediate damages sustained to infrastructure such as roads, bridges, culverts, etc., as a result of uninsurable, severe and extreme weather events and natural disasters, including flooding and bushfires. Claims must exceed 5 per cent of a council's general rate revenue to qualify and council is expected to commit the equivalent of 10 per cent of their works budget towards the restoration bill.

Claims made to the disaster fund are assessed on their individual merits and each council is expected to contribute towards the restoration costs. More than $7.6 million has been made available to councils in the past two financial years, much of it linked to the widespread storm which swept the Mid North in late 2007.

This week, I have a scheduled meeting with Nick Champion (the local federal MP), the member for Frome in the other place, and mayor Allan Aughey to discuss the flood recovery effort in the affected Clare & Gilbert Valleys Council area. I understand that, resulting from the recent meeting of the Council of Australian Governments, the question of commonwealth support for the flood recovery effort has been referred to the federal government for its consideration.

I commend the Hon. Jennifer Rankine in the other place and the disaster recovery committee for the work they undertook in the wake of this event in providing emergency relief and assistance to affected individuals and families. The state government, through the Department for Families and Communities, provided emergency grant assistance to some families who suffered loss or damage as a result of the flooding. This was in the form of a $700 grant for immediate assistance, a $5,600 grant for loss of personal effects and a $5,600 grant for house repairs.

During the recent December 2010 storm, the Clare & Gilbert Valleys Council area sustained an estimated $10 million of damage to its road infrastructure. The emergency payment provided an immediate cash flow to allow the council to engage contractors and get machinery and resources into areas to begin cleaning up, as well as commence repairs to vital infrastructure in Stockport.

This has been followed up so that, at its February 2011 meeting, the management committee of the Local Government Disaster Fund considered further avenues of assistance to the Clare & Gilbert Valleys Council and approved a payment of up to $150,000 to engage an independent consulting engineer to assist the council with the assessment and prioritisation of works to be completed. This is an important step because the reconstruction needs to be done in a measured and logical sequence so that the funds spent to repair roads and bridges can provide the maximum benefit for the people and the economy of the area. The reconstruction also needs to be carried out with an eye to mitigating further damage from future storms.

The council's application to the Local Government Disaster Fund estimated the damage sustained at approximately $10.85 million, including crossings damaged or destroyed, including loss of culverts and pipes; shoulders washed out; kerbing and footpath damage; damage to and loss of pavement base; parks and garden damage; extensive silt deposits; loss of extensive road sheeting; loss of road signage; severe scouring and rutting of road sections; and extensive water sheeting over infrastructure.

I am advised that the management committee of the disaster fund, the Director of the Office for State/Local Government Relations and the Chief Executive of the Local Government Association met on 4 February to finalise the expert engineers' engagement and put together a project team. I understand it was agreed that a multiskilled team would assist the council in addressing the engineering aspects of the disaster, as well as the longer term infrastructure renewal issues and the asset and financial management planning issues faced by council.

I understand the agreed project team is to comprise a project manager, an engineer, a financial and asset consultant and representatives from the Office of State/Local Government Relations and the LGA. The LGA has contributed $20,000 to the project over and above the disaster fund contribution, and I commend it for this.

The project scope includes assessment and prioritisation of works to be completed, time lines for completion, funding options and models available, assessment of the implications on the council's asset and financial management plans and preparation of guidelines and resource documents that can be used by other councils facing similar events.

The disaster fund has assisted in a number of other areas following damage over recent years. For example, the Anangu Pitjantjatjara Yankunytjatjara lands communities will receive up to $1.145 million in 2010-11 (subject to repair work being completed during this financial year) following significant damage to roads as a result of storms in the area in late November and early December 2008.

This builds on an initial payment of $500,000 made in December 2010 paid to the APY lands as a first tranche payment. I am advised that the balance of $645,000 is due to be released upon receipt of a progress report in June 2011, detailing works completed and the remaining works to be undertaken.

Another regional council which has benefited from this fund in the past is the District Council of Orroroo Carrieton which, following flooding in February 2010, prepared a submission to the disaster fund. The management committee approved a payment of $319,800 to the council, and I am advised that payment was made in December 2010.

The Local Government Disaster Fund has made a significant contribution to assisting our resourceful and resilient rural communities to deal with whatever slings and arrows nature throws at them. I commend members and officers in local government for the calm, steady and professional manner in which they faced those challenges.

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