Now is the time for everyone in much of Brisbane to bury old enmities & give thanks to old Joh. Much of Brisbane is only above water due to his foresight, & determination, in pushing Wivenhoe through.

It has now saved Brisbane from dying of thirst, & made this flood much less severe than it would have been.

Having been through a flood myself, many years ago, I have great sympathy for all those going through it now, in so much of Qld.

However isn't it great that so many are now being spared the heartbreak now, due to the old bu##ers legacy.

I have to endoese that, hasbeen, as well as the efforts of Brisbane City Councils and State Governments since, which have together worked at flood mitigation works all over the city.

My premises went under to about 1.5m in 1974 to the best of my ability to research. The projection is that the flood will atop about a metre below my place, but I've been lifting everything up anyway. when you have all your assets in timber, floods and fire are big problems.

Good luck to everyone in Brisbane and Ipswich, and of course to all the rest of the people afflicted by this flood and the ones that are yet to come in this extraordinary year.

How soon we forget the LNP's mean point scoring politics in scuttling the Traverston Dam on the Mary River. They did the heavy sledging and the Greens claimed the credit. Nimby anti-dam politics has been kind to the LNP and the Greens, delivering that odd few votes to win seats.

Damn (dam) politics,
http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2009/11/11/2739813.htm

Cornflower,
If I recall correctly the coalition wasn't against a dam, it was against a dam in that particular location. Correct me if I'm wrong but didn't they argue to have dams further upstream to keep all the good farming land ?

individual,"..the coalition wasn't against a dam, it was against a dam in that particular location.."

Anywhere but where it was proposed - the usual games that politicians play.

What I am trying to say is how about shelving the politics for a while to arrive at solutions that deliver the most community benefit? After all, the dam was eventually shelved by Labor (Peter Garrett) and on political not practical grounds - nor environmental grounds when one considers the alternatives forced into play and the present devastation from floods.

We need a statesman like Clem Jones who among other accomplishments sewered Brisbane, a magnificent feat and against the will of entrenched interests.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clem_Jones

It amazes me that you could commend the most corrupt State Govt in Australia's history just because of global warming weather events.

Joh himself would have been the countries leading climate change sceptic, and there is no doubt that the dam of which you would have been most likely the product a corrupt tendering process or even worse a monumental job for the boys.

You must be kidding. The environmental devastation up and down the Qld coast is testament to the Bjelke Petersen. Floods can be recovered from, corrupt govt's do clearly irreversible damage, and this Gov't was Australia greatest example of regressive, oppressive, short sighted stupidity, maintained by the rigging of the political process.

Sorry Hasbeen but I am truly appalled. The excess powers given to Qld police remained seared in my personal memories. And Qld's reputation as a hillbilly outpost has taken a long time to dissipate in this country. I don't think there is any need to remind us, "that those weren't the days" .