Blame game slammed

THE Opposition has labelled the Premier’s attempt to dodge questions about the operation of the Ross River Dam during the Townsville floods an “embarrassing” buck pass.

LNP leader Deb Frecklington has slammed Annastacia Palaszczuk for referring questions about the dam to the Townsville City Council in a TV interview yesterday.

“The Ross River Dam is run by Sunwater and the State Government are in control of that dam,” Ms Frecklington said. “How does she think the people of Townsville and North Queensland feel when their Premier squibs it on national television and tries to put the blame at someone else’s feet? It’s embarrassing.”

When asked on Sunrise if the dam’s spillway gates should have been opened earlier to mitigate flooding, Ms Pal- aszczuk said questions should be directed to the council.

“They own that dam, they are the asset owner of that dam,” Ms Palaszczuk said.

She said she was not “blaming” the council for the floods.

Townsville Mayor Jenny Hill said the opening of the gates initially followed the dam’s emergency action plan.

“Due to the extreme rainfall over the dam catchment – and the Bureau of Meteorology’s predictions of further intense rainfall – Townsville City Council decided to increase the spillway gates further than the EAP,” Cr Hill said.

She said it was done “to reduce future downstream flooding and the peak of the flood- waters”. Cr Hill said advice was sought from BOM, Sunwater, the Department of Natural Resources, Mines and Energy, and “technical consultants”.

Ms Palaszczuk later said she had not stated that questions about the dam had to be answered by the council.

“No, I didn’t say that at all,” she said. “I said the dam is a Townsville City Councilowned asset, and of course everybody works together.”

Dam operations and associated procedures are one of the terms of reference for a “wide- ranging” independent review by the Inspector-general Emergency Management.

The review, to be completed by mid-year, will also assess preparation and planning, response, public information delivery and resourcing.

The Government also yesterday appointed Major General (ret.) Stuart Smith to head up the recovery effort in North Queensland as the State Disaster Recovery Co-ordinator. He would be based in Townsville and be responsible for all flood-affected areas.

HOW DOES SHE THINK THE PEOPLE OF TOWNSVILLE AND NORTH QUEENSLAND FEEL WHEN THEIR PREMIER SQUIBS IT ON NATIONAL TELEVISION DEB FRECKLINGTON