Having lived in Brisbane through the 1974 and later floods, I've always wondered at the continuing 'development' in areas known to be flood prone. There was a LOT of talk after 1974 about the council purchasing flooded properties, however like all political speak it proved to be more hot air than substance. People tend to have a very short memory & a year or so after a disaster we saw houses and commercial buildings getting built win streets that were ten or more metres underwater. Its unrealistic to expect bureaucrats & politicians to solve problems, their forte' being creation of problems rather than the resolution thereof. Ultimately the responsibility for ones affairs must rest with the individual, those who persist in buying or building in areas known to have significant issues must bear much of the responsibility for the situation in which they now find themselves. That said, it is encouraging to see so many individuals & organizations assisting in the cleanup. Despite the much touted involvement of the military, the fact remains that most of the real cleanup work will be done by volunteers. Comments like 'I believed the dam would prevent flooding' imply blind trust of politicians, hardly the smartest observation given the proven utter ineptitude of the likes of GoAnna the Blight, the Lame Duck, the Woodpecker & the Budgie Smuggler. In conclusion, I sincerely hope that the Queensland ALP doesn't manage to use this crisis as a means to restore their flagging fortunes.

Should all property bear a risk rating to things such as floods, seafront erosion, fire etc? Buyers don’t ask and sellers don’t tell; yet if risks were listed on certificates of title people would purchase with eyes open (but would ignore the warnings and expect government to solve the problem). What may be at issue is whether people buy on notice.

Everyone looks at floods as being disasters; Egypt’s Aswan Dam has led to loss of soil fertility in its lower reaches. Floods replenish soils. Stopping that cycle leads to loss of fertility and loss of structure in soils.

As with everything the cost of 100% prevention WILL be weighed against the potential cost of loss. We do not have infinite capacity to cope; and there is a duty on individuals to look to their own protection – but that requires some expertise to be applied and forewarnings given.

People will always roll the dice hoping for a favourable outcome. As sad as some outcomes are that pattern of behaviour won’t change – and as we know no one accepts governments making them do ‘the right thing’.

While writing my blog post on the Queensland floods I gave a lot of thought to the role of criticism and accusation in the aftermath of disasters. We need to learn from such events but not allow this to lead to unreasonable and unkind criticism. No-one has a crystal ball. Thankyou Allan McConnell for raising this in such a sensitive manner. And I agree with Kadaitcha that individuals need to take responsibility too.

After pondering how much criticism I should allow to enter my blog post and looking into the history of flooding in southern Queensland I concluded that it is important that we acknowledge past mistakes (without seeking retribution) rather than avoiding the issues that so patently need to be addressed. The quality of our learning in the aftermath of the floods will be compromised if we seek an eye for an eye.

Property purchasers who employ legal practitioners to do the conveyancing have a right to expect said professional carries out a thorough investigation of the prior history of tand and / or improvements. Whether or not this work is performed properly (or at all) is another issue again. Those who take on the conveyancing role as individuals have only themselves to blame if they don't do the legwork, however from a personal view I'd far rather do stuff myself simply because I know what I've done has been done correctly. When I encounter an issue I don't understand, its my problem if I don't acquire the relevant knowledge. Assumptions have long made an ass out of you and I, and never more so when the word of a politician or bureaucrat is regarded as gospel. In an ideal world we'd learn from our mistakes, but the fact is that we appear destined to repeat our mistakes ad infinitum. My response has been to drop out of the big city rat-race & let those who wish to play that game sink or swim as their whim takes them.