Goodooga, northwest NSW, 5 March 10 - - An Aboriginal Elder and farmer blames a 75-kilometre cotton irrigation levee for faster, deeper and greater expanse of flood water flowing across southern central Queensland and upper western NSW areas than ever before.
Aboriginal Elder and station owner and manager, Michael Anderson and his hydrologist wife Jutta, are currently awaiting record flood waters of 8-9 metres at their station “Mogila”, east of Goodooga, northwest NSW.
Mr Anderson writes in a media release that flood waters from Roma and St. George are currently travelling down the Lower Ballon, Bokahara, Narran and Ballandool River systems towards Mogila.
The Anderson couple also owns a stocked property, “Currawillinghi”, 4.4 km northwest of Hebel, QLD. That property backs “Cubbie Station” with a bunding levee at the south west edge of Cubbie, Australia's biggest cotton plantation.
“We will attempt today to evacuate all stock from Currawillinghi due to the flood which will inundate the property due largely to the Cubbie Station levee bank,” Mr Anderson writes.
“My traditional knowledge handed down to me through my Elders informed me of the importance of the area of land that is now Cubbie Station and its function for flood retention.”
Mr Anderson points out that the 2003 Cullen Report and the relevant government investigations have failed to identify the possible effects Cubbie Station’s bunding levee will have on the hydrology of the lower river systems, although the Andersons and the Betts family (former property owners of Balgi) raised the issue during community consultations.
Mr Anderson says, “The bunding levee, which stretches 75 km, will significantly impact the ability of that land to operate as flood retention; consequently we now face faster, deeper and greater expanse of water flow across the southern central Queensland and upper western NSW areas than ever before.”
Attempts to limit damage to stock and property are being hampered by the inability of the NSW SES to take proactive measures in the Goodooga region as the flood waters approach, Mr Anderson charges.
The Department of Primary Industry (DPI) NSW has also decided that they will not provide assistance to the Andersons because they issued the flood warning to give time to land owners to make provision for the coming event.
However, due to the heavy rain in the last week, Mogila station and all neighbouring properties are already unpassable.
Furthermore, the QLD SES has provided no aid to the Andersons in evacuating the Currawillinghi property.
“Essentially no help will be provided to any farmer or family until such time that the area is already underwater and declared a natural disaster area,” Mr Anderson writes.
The value of stock at Currawillinghi, much of which is owned by agistment farmers, is estimated at $340,000. Consequently the loss of stock at that property would severely impact the livelihoods of a number of families besides the Andersons.
Michael Anderson can be contacted at 02 68296355 landline, 04272 92 492 mobile, 02 68296375 fax, ngurampaa@bigpond.com.au
Cubbie Station background at http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2009/08/17/2657448.htm
