Mayor rejects Clive’s attack

TOWNSVILLE City Council has rejected claims by businessman Clive Palmer that Mayor Jenny Hill was negligent in the management of water releases from Ross River Dam.

Mr Palmer yesterday sensationally called for Townsville City Council to be placed into administration and for Cr Hill to be sacked, claiming water needed to be released earlier to avoid flooding.

But a Townsville City Council spokesman said Mr Palmer’s criticism was completely unfounded because the council had sought advice from independent dam safety engineers, an independent hydrologist and Sunwater on the management of the dam and worked cooperatively with all agencies on an early release of water.

Mr Palmer, who announced on Friday that he would contribute $100,000 to a fund for class actions against insurers, yesterday directed his attack on Cr Hill in a statement and at a press conference.

He also said it was conflict of interest for Sunwater, as a commercial operator, to be in charge of a public utility.

“Under her direction, at a time when the Ross River Dam was already over capacity and with massive rain knowingly coming, Mayor Jenny Hill refused to release water,’’ Mr Palmer said.

“If she gave instructions to release dam water when she should have, as per expert advice, the dam would have been able to capture more rain water. The handling of this major weather event in Townsville has been hopeless and the Mayor Jenny Hill should resign immediately.”

But a Townsville City Council spokesman said Mr Palmer’s criticism of the Mayor was wrong.

“Townsville City Council received advice from independent dam safety engineers, an independent hydrologist and Sunwater on the management of the dam, and its spillway gates, during this unprecedented rain event,” the spokesman said.

“Townsville City Council sought advice and worked cooperatively with all applicable agencies – including Sunwater – in relation to the early release of water from the Ross River Dam.

“The Bureau of Meteorology analysed the weather event and declared it exceptional, with the accumulated rainfall totals around Townsville the highest since records began in the late 1880s.”