There is no shortage of data which could and should influence sensible planning.
The plains, upon which so many towns are built, of western Queensland and NSW, are, mostly, the beds of seas/lakes of past geological eras. It is difficult to find high ground upon which to set out a town above what, at some time, will become a floodplain; and impossible to find a dam site capable of adequately influencing the flow of water.

Brisbane has good historical records of humdinger flood events since 1841. Wivenhoe Dam does not have the capability to do more than give a minor trim, not a haircut, to the larger ones. Ipswich’s large contributor, the Bremer River, has its contribution to the Brisbane scene lessened not at all.
The Gold Coast was warned in 1954, by lecturers in Geology at the University of Queensland, about the absurdity of building on the ephemeral fore-dunes of the beaches. Their geology showed them to be built up during calm southerly wave action, and destroyed during events of wave surge from northern cyclonic action.

In 1999 Geoscience Australia commenced a natural hazards assessment for various parts of Australia, starting with an assessment of the city of Cairns; and on to Perth and region. An Assessment for South East Queensland was published in 2001.

Is any of the available information being brought into play by the steamroller of the development industry? There is all too little evidence of it as the push goes on to “grow the economy” at the expense of social wellbeing for individuals and communities. The rapaciousness of that is best evidenced by the Russell Island (in Moreton Bay) affair of a few decades back when blocks of land were sold to the unwary - land of which part lay below high tide mark.

The data is readily available. Its adequate use faces the challenge of rampant development lead by the mantra that continuing, unlimited and speedy, growth is good.

Every town, villiage and city is built on a water course, because in the early days, that was the only water supply, and this has continued. Developers, and some councillers just don't care that the homes are built in flood plains, after all, they are not the ones who will be living in them, and how many councillers are developers, or have been and have mates who still are? Maybe these floods are to see how intelligent we are, if we will in future build on non flood plains, or continue on that old dangerous path..

Can NSW see a similar flooding disaster as Brisbane in Jan 2011?
The recent opening up of the North West and South West sectors of Sydney to greatly increased development will expose possibly thousands of homes and businesses to one of the most devastating floodplains in Australia, the Hawkesbury-Nepean River and its tributaries. The effects of flooding in the Valley are well documented. (http://www.ses.nsw.gov.au/multiversions/2533/FileName/Map_of_1867_Flood_for_the_Hawkesbury-Nepean_Region.pdf )
In a repeat of the 1867 flood, evacuations (several thousands) would be mandatory, most new homes constructed with floor levels to the current minimum planning requirements would suffer water over the ceiling, new commercial and industrial areas would be submerged.

If the NSW State government and strategic land use planners are to learn a lesson from the horrors, distress and cost of the floods of Brisbane and its surrounding areas, it is that flood risk is related not just to the chance of a severe flood occurring but also to the consequences thereof. The financial and social impacts of a flood disaster must be fully considered and appropriate planning undertaken.

If today’s politicians and planners do not wish to be condemned by tomorrow’s victims of destructive floods, they must learn that floodplains deserve respect and appropriate planning. Resilience measures are well known and documented:
REDUCING VULNERABILITY OF BUILDINGS TO FLOOD DAMAGE Guidance on Building in Flood Prone Areas (http://www.ses.nsw.gov.au/multiversions/8993/FileName/Building_Guidelines.pdf )
DESIGNING SAFER SUBDIVISIONS Guidance on Subdivision Design in Flood Prone Areas (http://www.ses.nsw.gov.au/multiversions/8997/FileName/Subdivision_Guidelines.pdf )
MANAGING FLOOD RISK THROUGH PLANNING OPPORTUNITIES Guidance on Land Use Planning in Flood Prone Areas (http://www.ses.nsw.gov.au/multiversions/8998/FileName/Land_Use_Guidelines.pdf
These are simple measures which if adopted will add a small cost to development but provide significant reductions in the costs of recovery from flooding and could save lives.

There are three questions that I pose
• What is the duty of care of politicians and planners to the community?
• Can the Community recover from the inevitable flood disaster which will happen in the Hawkesbury-Nepean?
• With the benefit of the Brisbane experience, can our politicians and planners meet the challenge or will they continue to make the same mistakes?

the flood we had to have................Yes! the dead agree totally:)

BLUE

Who's to say this wet season is not the start of a one in a hundred year event or one in a 250 year event? What if it rains just as much next year and more the following third year? Where will governments look to then? Too the same people who orchestrated the rebuilding in flood prone areas this time,or will they just go into hiding with super in their pockets. As an applicant who is struggling with government to deliver housing which is not in a flood prone area,time will tell how wet this government really is when more bodies and their families are washed up over bad policy decisions and failure to recognize and correct bad results currently with the revision of this gaggle of past clusterf..ks and injustices. May Inigo Jones (rip).