Mr Aird - You were too quick.

Mr DEAN - No, I do not think that is quite the case. Mr President, I would like to add to the other members' congratulations to all of those members who have been successful in the recent elections, to our Leader, and of course to our member for Rowallan, who is not here, on their superb effort in accomplishing what they did, and also to the members in the lower House who were successful, and of course to our Leader and to the honourable Treasurer in their recent promotions, and to the Deputy Leader as well. Also I want to congratulate the Government very clearly on what they have accomplished in getting back in with a majority and providing another four-year period of stable government to this State, and I wish them well in the next four-year period, as I think we all would do.

I should make it perfectly clear right from the onset, Mr President, that I do not support Collingwood, never have done and never will do.

Members interjecting.

Mr DEAN - My wife when I left this morning said that it indicated to all present that I was a Collingwood supporter, but it is not the case.

I am not intending to speak at length, Mr President, but there are some issues there that His Excellency the Governor, Sir William Cox, raised yesterday that I do want to touch on. He made reference to this State demonstrating and showing leadership to the world, providing also a strong economic position and a government for all of the people.

An area of concern that I have which fits into this and is an area, Mr President, that is very dear to you as well, is very clearly the levees and position of the levees in the Launceston area, and I intend to focus on that to some degree. These are the levees that are lying to the north of our city, as we all should know, and surrounding and providing protection to the Invermay and Inveresk areas in particular and also to some other parts of Launceston. It is the area of Invermay and Inveresk that substantially will be impacted on and devastated if a collapse of those levees should occur. Flood levees are like insurance or even relationships, Mr President, something we never knew we always wanted until one day when we need them and we find that they are not there to support us. We need to continuously work on our relationships and our flood levees.

Australians, Mr President, are a nation of gamblers and risk takers but let us now take stock of our situation before it is too late. We can no longer gamble about whether a major flood will return to challenge the northern community. Let there be no doubt - and it should be noted well and truly by this Government - that a major flood is well overdue in Launceston. Perhaps it is even imminent. If we look at what has been happening around the world and if we look at the climate changes, if we look at the devastation which has occurred in other parts of the world through flooding, levee collapses, it is astronomical, Mr President.

In the nineteenth century, history recorded over eight significant floods. In the twentieth century there were only two significant floods. In the twenty-first century we have not yet had one. There has not been one to this date at this stage in the twenty-first century - a significant flood we are talking about here.

Mr Parkinson - So you would like another one.

Mr DEAN - No, we do not but I will go into that in a little more detail, Mr Leader, in a moment because a flood is a real likelihood and will damage immensely the economic position of this State. That is the point I am trying to make in regard to all of this and it is an issue that His Excellency raised yesterday. It is a simple question of when, not if. Nature cannot be trifled with. The floods will return, Mr Leader, and we cannot be found wanting.

Some have said that the only thing that we learn from history is that we learn nothing from history. That cannot be and must not be the epitaph for Launceston. I notice that the Treasurer is smiling, Mr President, because very clearly if those levees fail he can put his hand on $100 million or more to fix all the tragedies and problems that will occur and result from it. Is that the reason you are smiling?

Mr Aird - No, I liked your quote. I thought it was a nice turn of phrase.

Ms Thorp - What about the Venice of the north?

Mr DEAN - Thank you very much. It is now some 77 years since the devastating 1929 floods and I suspect that not many of us here today may remember them, I certainly do not, and as I look around the room today I note the youthful appearance of my companions.

Members - Oh.

Mr DEAN - So I am sure that is not the case in this House, Mr President, but I am equally certain that we have all heard something of them. It was a truly devastating event seeing up to 1 000 homes then - and we are talking about 1929 - and over 4 000 people significantly affected and impacted on by that flood. You can multiply that quite substantially since the 1929 period.

Mr Aird - So even after that flood don't tell me they have kept building like this. They wouldn't have done that, would they? The Launceston council wouldn't have approved anything like that.

Mr DEAN - Well, there have been one or two further buildings built there but I might add that some strict controls are now in place, Mr President, to ensure that that does not occur and in particular in relation to residential properties in that flood-prone area. So that is now at long last being strictly controlled and we should not see any more of that occurring in the short term, if we can ever be satisfied that those levees are 100 per cent proof and could not fall apart, and maybe that could change, I do not know.

Mr Aird - Get with the spirit.

Mr DEAN - I was going to say that if that were to happen today, it would significantly impact on His Excellency's statement regarding the State's economic position because it would, I would suggest, have a huge impact on the State's financial position.

Mr Aird - And the Launceston council's position?

Mr DEAN - No, the Launceston council have a part to play in this, I would suspect, but it is an area, Mr President, that very clearly the Launceston City Council has not and will never have the funds to right and to cover. I am surprised to note that it took over 30 years from that event for the then leaders of this State to react to the known risk. It was not until 1959 when legislation was introduced to prepare against a recurrence. Why there is such a delay is confusing but thank goodness that we were fortunate that the heavens did not open during those years of seeming procrastination. Unfortunately that is still occurring to some degree.

The next 15 years was a flurry of -

Mr Aird - We have now got a committee together with Launceston City Council and the State Government working through the issues. So it is not as though people are ignoring it.

Mr DEAN - You are quite right in mentioning that, Mr Treasurer, and I will just be
brushing over that in some detail a little later on. But you are right, we do have that in place now and we are at long last starting to move forward and in my opinion, in the right direction. I thank the Government for their involvement and their commitment in this, and also the Federal Government who have had some involvement in it also. That is very good. The next 15 years, as I said, had a flurry of activity involving analysis, assessment and finally investment and construction.

The task was challenging, with the soft, deep, alluvial soils of Invermay, and I do not think it is well known that the soils around Invermay are almost bottomless, and one can give an example of that with the pile-driving that occurred for Aurora Stadium. As is known by some, when they were putting the piles for the stadium in that area the pylons, with the first hits of the machinery that they use to put them into the ground, went down a metre or whatever it was but there were several occasions where the piles were struck and they went down something like 30 to 40 metres in the one go. They just sunk. There was virtually no bottom to it before they actually hit a hardened surface. So that is an indication of the type of soils that we are dealing with in and around that area. It makes it very difficult to work with and to work on.

There was much frustration and much re-analysis as methods were altered, modified and changed to accommodate nature's challenges of building on a former swamp. And that is what it is. But finally in 1975, although not quite finished, and with some residual concerns as to its fitness for purpose the levees were transferred to the Launceston City Council. I understand that council was nervous about this transfer and it was certainly well and truly before my time. They had observed the failures during construction, they had observed the altered designs, the different methods of construction and they had also observed the delays and cost overruns.

The council nonetheless agreed to take on the maintenance task but has also sought and obtained financial understandings from the State that unfinished items and any design defects or deficiencies would be a continuing burden of State Government. This is part of this agreement. It is now yet another 30 years on. Concern about the levees has increased in those 30 years. That is something I have had great difficulty in coming to grips with; the fact that it has lain around for so long without any real action being taken.

Whilst continuous funding has been delivered in satisfaction of those agreements by all colours of government, the aid has been marginal and none have been able to deliver the necessary resources to satisfy the functional need. Governments have either been unwilling or unable to fulfil their obligations. Fortunately, between events and decisions - and these seem to continuously be 30-year periods unfortunately - we have once again been blessed by good luck and that is that the heavens have not opened up; that we have not had those huge rainfalls that obviously will occur in the future. Can we continually test this good fortune? The question is asked. I do not think so. Can we expect Mother Nature to wait until we are ready? I do not think so. Can we expect that things will not get worse?

Mr Parkinson - You had better build a structure capable of taking two of each species.

Mr DEAN - I am sure we cannot. Mr President, our catchments are changing, global warming is upon us and, I guess Mr President, that is probably questionable too after one sees the temperatures I think at Liawenee yesterday. I think it was an almost all-time low for the State. I think it was minus 11 on the information I received and I think it warmed up to either minus 2 or just 2, I am not quite sure.

Mrs Rattray-Wagner - 14 degrees at Bridport yesterday.

Mr DEAN - 14 degrees at Bridport. It certainly wasn't at Liawenee.

Mr Aird - It was minus 5 at Ouse.

Mr DEAN - Was it? Minus 5? Minus 11 at Liawenee. Crazy.
Sea level rises seem imminent. By any reasonable interpretation, risk and likelihood can only be said to be increasing and I think that is very, very clear to all of us that the opportunity for this to occur is increasing as time goes by.

It has been estimated that the probability of a $100 million damaging flood - and I think that that figure is probably quite conservative, Mr President; I could not see it being controlled or repaired or being covered by $100 million - over the next 50 years is 40 per cent - a 40 per cent chance of that occurring, and this is what our engineers are telling us, people who know what we should expect and know about the levees. So it is almost a toss of the coin, a heads or tails situation that we have, that we will have a flood that will be so devastating on this area.

The risk is in a suburb of which some 40 per cent is below high tide and by up to about 1.5 metres, and I do not think that it is generally known, Mr President, and certainly was not known by many people living in this area until recently when this issue started getting a lot of publicity. People did not realise that they were living in an area that was below high tide, did not realise that the flood level on a high tide, if the levees were not there, would be about 1.5 metres.

Mr Aird - The mind boggles.

Mr DEAN - The mind boggles, absolutely right, Mr Treasurer, because people need to know that. People have to know that. They have to know the circumstances under which they are currently living.

Mrs Smith - Would you support a levy on a levee?

Members interjecting.

Mr DEAN - I would support the Treasurer imposing a levy on the levees by the State.

Mr PRESIDENT - Order.

Sitting suspended from 1 p.m. to 2.30 p.m.

ADDRESS-IN-REPLY

Wednesday 31 May 2006-06-23
Resumed from page 33
[2.53 p.m.]
Mr DEAN ( Windermere ) - I just wanted to say the reason that I identify this issue is that it is an extremely important issue to the greater majority of the north-eastern part of this State, and it impacts right across my electorate, right through to Long Reach, to Bell Bay, to George Town, and it will have a significant impact on the whole of the area should there be a flood and those levees fail. Yes, I think I had just mentioned that the risk that has been identified to us by the many engineers that have looked at our levees and understand the situation is that the probability of a $100 million at least damaging flood to that area is equivalent to the tossing of a coin, heads or tails. That is about the seriousness that they put on this issue, and that is an incredible risk, I would suggest, for any State, for any Federal government, local government to take, and it is one that we just cannot allow to occur and continue to occur.

If the levees fail then the tide may invade a suburb by up to 0.9 metres along part of our national AusLink highway network twice a day every day until the levees are fixed. That type of flooding has been experienced, of course, in New Orleans and we have read all about the New Orleans flooding and the devastation and the time that it has taken there to correct the situation, and it has just been ongoing for such a long period of time. It will cut off major roads through Launceston and through to the north-eastern part of the State. We have seen the impacts from Cyclone Larry, the loss of homes, the displacement of people and, equally important, the loss of industry and employment. It can be truly devastating to a community, and in this case the potential to destroy many businesses and property owners is real, and unfortunately in this instance the potential for multiple deaths is real. That is what puts this into a more serious category than a lot of other issues that we are currently looking at.

As alarming as this is, we should treat this as an opportunity. Some levees will need to be strengthened, some will need to be modified, others may need to be moved. Land users and property at risk may need to be reconsidered and the honourable Treasurer mentioned earlier that we have allowed buildings to continue in that location over a long period of time, knowing what the risks are.

I can say that, fortunately I suppose in one regard, the greater majority of that has occurred not in my time but in the time of other people. But it is now something that has been arrested and is not now going to occur. This is not just a financial burden but a real and a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to review what we want Launceston to be and to set a clear direction for the next 50 to 100 years. These levees were devised and built in an era when mankind wanted to change nature, to bend it to its needs and wants rather than to work with it. Neither simple nor complex engineering solutions are the only way forward.

For how long has it been suggested that the flood levees isolated the city from its rivers? Are there not now a range of opportunities to lower property damage risk, preserve sustainable employment, create better community safety and more importantly to have better land uses close to the heart of the city? We will need to consider the full dimension of natural hazard risk management, engineering mitigation, appropriate land uses, early warning systems, community awareness and preparedness, building standards that minimise damage and better emergency management.

I am sure that there is much that the Launceston City Council could have done and should have done differently in the last 77 years. There is also much that it can yet do in delivering an improved outcome in Invermay for the benefit of Invermay and the benefit of the whole city, for the benefit of the whole region and for the benefit of the whole State. That is the significance of these levees. They are and will be an impost and will have an impact on the State.

It is not something that the residents of Launceston can do alone. The problem is too large for just one council. The Launceston City Council will need help and the potential benefits and opportunities are just too large to miss and the potential damage too large to ignore. Damage will impact adversely on the State economy. In a nutshell, it is time, time for men of vision to step forward and say enough is enough; time to put aside any concept of blame as to why this problem exists. That is not going to fix this problem and there are people out there wanting to lay blame at the feet of the Launceston City Council, the State Government and the Federal Government. It is not going to help.

It is time for everyone to stop expecting that someone else will fix it or that it will be fixed with someone else's money; time to seize the moment and embark on a brave new approach to flood plain management; time to learn from history and to not repeat it; time to stop wishing that it were not true and to do something. There is a partnership between the Launceston City Council and the State Government to review this risk. That has been an enduring one and it is on the verge of delivering a major report on the deliberations to date, but it has gone on too long.

That was mentioned by the honourable Treasurer earlier in the morning when I first raised this matter. That report is being done, committees now have been set up with the hope of advancing this matter as quickly as is possible. The people of Invermay, Inveresk and Launceston look forward to the results of this partnership arrangement in the next few months. And that is what we are hoping for, that in the next few months we can determine a real way forward. Whatever it comes up with I am sure that it will be a difficult and challenging road ahead. It will need the support of the Launceston City Council, the State Government, the Federal Government, the opposition parties, the community and this House. It will need the support of this House. I trust that it will be visionary but delivery of visions takes time. We must also think of the present. A flood may come tomorrow or next week, Mr President, and that is a matter that you have often referred to yourself: that the flood could be here next week. It could be here the week after.

Mrs Rattray-Wagner - It's raining now.

Mr DEAN - Is it raining now?

Mrs Rattray-Wagner - In the north.

Mr DEAN - Let us hope the flood has not started, Mr President. There are urgent things that must be done now, prior to delivering the vision. They may well be bandaids. They may well need to be changed or modified within 10 years. Mr President, they may very well be wasted in the near future and that is a matter that we have got to take into account. It may well be wasted but it may well be needed right now but last year's insurance premium was always a waste if you did not need to make a claim upon it. Have you ever thought of that? If you didn't make a claim on it, it was a waste of money. You did not need it.

Mrs Rattray-Wagner - Peace of mind is worth a lot though.

Mr DEAN - That was the next comment I was going to make. On the other hand, it would have been an absolute blessing had you needed it, if you had wanted it. I commend the Launceston City Council and this House and the Government to do all that is within its power to arrest the serious nature of this risk, to identify the long-term plans that are needed but equally to pay this year's insurance premium and to invest in essential and urgent levee repairs that are needed right now.

Mr President, when you look at the north of the State and my electorate of Windermere , there is no doubt in my mind whatsoever that the two most important and most significant issues to be dealt with are the levees and I think the pulp mill, both of which will demonstrate world leadership for this Government, if taken on, if resolved and if we move on.

The pulp mill will bring long-term security to thousands of Tasmanians. It will bring economic gain. It will allow us to do more with our raw product downstream processing. It will bring employment relief right across the State, particularly the north of the State, and will fill what could be a dearth of employment opportunities for our much troubled Beaconsfield community right at this present time.

I just pause there, Mr President, to simply identify with the hero survivors and the heroic efforts of those who were involved in the attempts to rescue those trapped miners and the deceased miner. It was a courageous effort and an effort that, as was said, the country has recognised. I want to pass on my condolences in this House to the Knight family for their sad loss in the circumstances.

Mr President, to get this into perspective - I refer to the pulp mill - the levees must go to the top. As I said, they are protecting an inhabited and residential area, an area of industry, a thriving business area, an area of real significance. A breakdown in the levees has the potential to cause absolute mayhem and loss of life, as I have said, and it needs to be understood. It would cause huge property damage. This also has the potential to cut off, as I previously said, the north-east of the State which has the major industrial areas at Bell Bay, Long Reach and George Town.

One other area I wanted to touch on, Mr President, which was raised by His Excellency yesterday in his speech as well, is health and the environment. I do not think I need remind the Government of the substantial difficulties currently confronted in the north of the State and in the Launceston area with regards pollution, much of which has been identified as a result of wood smoke, wood burning, in that area.

A lot of work needs to be done to ensure that we can decrease pollution in the Launceston area. We need to continue to work with it because there is a lot of evidence out there, Mr President, that is showing that wood smoke or pollution is causing injury to many people. It is injurious to health. There is a lot of evidence to support that and we need to get on top of it. There are permissible excesses under the pollution laws that an area is able to work towards. In Launceston's case, those limits are exceeded every year. They were certainly exceeded last year and certainly exceeded the year before, which is a clear indication a lot more work needs to be done in that area. But again, Mr President, this is not an area that a council alone can take on. This is an area that a State government needs to have a say in. They need to be involved in it. We need to extend the buy-back program for the wood heaters and there is evidence out there to show -

Mrs Rattray-Wagner - I have one, waiting for it to start.

Mr DEAN - There you go, the member for Apsley has taken up the challenge and has bought a wood heater and is helping the environment.

Mrs Rattray-Wagner - No, I'm waiting to get rid of my wood heater. I'm waiting for the buy-back scheme to come on board again.

Mr DEAN - The fact remains, Mr President, and on the inquiries that I have done, that wood heaters are very prominent in lower socio-economic areas within Launceston. Those people will say: you provide me with a cheaper form, a more economical form of heating my home and I will take it on. The fact remains that wood heating is currently the most economical form of heating a home. A lot of these people get their own wood. So there is not a cost there to supply that commodity. These people are saying, 'You help us, you give us the finances, the ability to go into some other form of heating and we will do it, but we do not have the finances that are necessary to do that'. So I am appealing to this Government, I am appealing to the Federal Government, I am appealing to local governments to stand up here and be counted and start to provide the money that is necessary to fix or at least control our environmental problem of smoke that we currently have in Launceston.

Another issue I wanted to touch on, Mr President, was one raised by the honourable member for Nelson in relation to liquor outlets and where they should be. That matter is now building a lot of momentum in this State because of the current moves with Woolworths wanting to co-locate off-licence premises close to supermarkets. It has certainly arisen within my electorate where there are, as I understand it, a number of applications made or waiting to be made to co-locate these off-licence liquor premises with supermarkets. That is an issue on which this Government needs to clarify its stance. The current position is somewhat ambiguous and needs to be given more transparency and clearness. That is an area that I would like this Government to look at.

I want to conclude, Mr President, by saying that there are a number of issues that concern me currently with the State legislation and that legislation is within the Local Government Act. It is within the Electoral Act and other State legislation. It deals with elections, and it deals with elections at State level and it deals with elections at local government level where those acts are quite ambiguous about what they say you are entitled to do and not entitled to do. There is a great need for a review of the sections dealing with that. I will be calling on this Government and I will be coming back to this House at the appropriate time with a position in relation to what I see as a way to move forward in that regard. It is a matter of grave concern. There has been a lot of discussion on it, a lot of people involved in some of the recent occurrences around this State, not only in this State but some of the recent occurrences on the mainland that are also of a similar nature. So that is an issue that I would be calling on this Government to star t to look at and to start to provide us with a position on it at an appropriate time, Mr President.

I would just like to draw the attention of the members around this table to the comments made by Philippa Duncan in the paper this morning. A number of members received a mention about their dress, and that is why I have come attired so well today.