Where is Queensland going with flood management?

The mix of measures must be carefully chosen to meet the circumstances of different areas. Flood warnings and flood education can be utilised in all flood-liable areas, and there are always some structural measures that will fit individual environments. But some devices will be locally inappropriate in terms of engineering or cost-benefit considerations.

What we need is carefully-considered proposals which make use of appropriate measures in each area. So far there is little sign that the state government is thinking broadly about the matter or bringing in the different sorts of expertise that should be applied. In talking largely about levees and dams they are consulting engineers, but the views of community safety and emergency management specialists with expertise in warning system development and community education are not being heard.

Queensland is about to make major decisions here. There is a danger, if the problem is not considered broadly and appropriate expertise is ignored, that we will not get mitigation that both works well and is cost-effective. That will mean a demand for further investment in mitigation measures to institute what should have been instituted in the first place.

Let's hope that the state government seeks flood mitigation which incorporates notions of both flood control and living more effectively with flooding. Let's hope too that it will try to stop the problem of the growth of community exposure to the hazards of flooding.

Surely we must recognise that we should seek to spare ourselves from repeated, wasteful and increasingly massive expenditure ─ not to mention personal heartbreak ─ on recovering from floods.