Cr Spud Jones
June 14, 2017
South Burnett Roads portfolio chair Cr Spud Jones has called for patience while work crews repair damage caused by ex-Cyclone Debbie in late March.
“Since this region was declared, Council has been working closely with the Commonwealth and State Governments to carry out emergent works,” Cr Jones told Wednesday’s Council meeting.
“Emergent works are temporary works carried out for the immediate repair or protection of essential public assets.
“This could include things like clearing debris from roads, temporary pothole repairs, or grading.”
Cr Jones said the Natural Disaster Relief and Recovery Arrangements (NDRRA) guidelines surrounding emergent works did not allow permanent restoration work to be carried out.
“The rules say their purpose is to make something safe or limit further damage,” Cr Jones said.
“But when all emergent works have been completed, Council have to carry out a survey of them and then submit an application to the Queensland Reconstruction Authority for assessment and approval.
“If the application is approved, then full restoration work can be carried out in-house or outsourced to contractors, and NDRRA will pick up most of the costs.”
Cr Jones said all disaster-related work still had to be kept separate from Council’s routine maintenance work.
“If Council do not meet the conditions of the approval, we may not be reimbursed,” he said.
“I can certainly understand the frustration some people in the community feel when they see potholes and other damage only being filled with gravel and dirt and looking like it’s a temporary fix.
“However we have to be very careful not to overstep the NDRRA guidelines, because it could end up costing ratepayers if we aren’t reimbursed.”
Cr Jones said natural disasters like the 2011 or 2013 floods took many months to set right because of the complex NDRRA rules, but all the damage they caused was eventually fixed.
“We’re very confident that if we’re successful with our funding application for restoration works, all the cyclone damage will be fully repaired and restored, too” Cr Jones said.
“I’d just like to ask residents to be patient, and to keep an open mind if they run across a pothole that looks like it’s received a shoddy patch.”
“Yes, it probably is shoddy. But we’ll be replacing it with a proper one as soon as we can.”
[Originally published as “Councillor Calls For Patience Over Cyclone Repairs”]
