Floodplain Management Australia (FMA) has welcomed the announcement by NSW Planning Minister Anthony Roberts of an independent review of the instruments, policies and programs applying to developments in flood prone locations.
FMA President Ian Dinham said the flooding which has devasted so much of eastern Australia in recent weeks demonstrates how many houses and businesses have been allowed in areas where there is a real risk of catastrophic flooding, and unacceptable risks to life.
“With the benefit of hindsight, it is obvious that floodplain development often carries unacceptable risks. Risks to people’s lives, possessions, businesses and mental health. And tremendous costs to governments in clean up, repair and rebuilding.
“The scenes of street after street piled high with flood ruined household possessions in northern NSW is heart-wrenching. As well as immediate assistance to help those directly affected, we need a coordinated adequately funded response to better manage the risk to people living in flood-prone areas across the state.
“In many cases mitigation works such as flood levees, flood drainage and house raising can reduce the frequency and severity of flooding. Where existing levees have been shown to be inadequate this needs to be addressed.
“We also need policies to ensure that any new development on floodplains is only permitted where the risk is properly understood and planned for.
“Long awaited improvements to NSW planning legislation and development guidelines are presently underway. We need to ensure that these updates are appropriate given the recent experiences, but we don’t need throw out this good work and start again.
“And what we absolutely don’t need is a long, drawn-out review that leaves flood affected communities in limbo.”
“FMA advocates reducing unacceptable flood risks by increasing government investment in wise land use planning, effective emergency response, community resilience initiatives and mitigation infrastructure. We look forward to contributing the collective knowledge of FMA’s Members to the review process,” Mr Dinham said.
Floodplain Management Australia brings together experts from across Australia and overseas to help build a more flood resilient nation. Members include over 170 councils, catchment management authorities, government agencies, businesses, and professionals involved in urban and rural flood risk management.
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