Questions are being asked about South Australia's flood recovery efforts after levees at Pompoota, Long Flat and other locations were overtopped or breached.
This is a complete failure of the Department of Environment & Water staff, the minister and this government. The area at Pompoota has huge historical significance being the site of the soldier settlement training farm for returned servicemen from WW1. Every person who applied for a soldier settler block after WW1 went through Pompoota. The Lindner family are direct descendents of the very first service men to return from WW1 and the Grandparents of the Lindners worked with everyone that came through the training farm and continued to care for the land and historical buildings ever since. They are the last dairy farm on Pompoota and the entire family represent 6 generations of dairy farming on this WW1 soldier settler block. They faced SES & Police intervention preventing them and the community trying to save the levee in January and the community fought tooth and nail to save it before the levee let go. The cows have recently returned and they have spent time and a fortune repairing the pastures on the flats and developing the highland all while they have been prevented legally from undertaking works that are screaming out to be done on the levee because DEW are in charge of the levee. The breech today has been a kick in the guts for their efforts and reminded them that they are at the whim of bureaucrats that still get their wages every week regardless of how much they destroy other peoples livelihoods by their inaction and ineptness. DEW have chosen to only source clay from a clay pit at Brinkley - yes that is correct, they cart all the repair clay from Brinkley. They refuse to use the clay from the borrow pits that are located alongside these leveed areas and the pits that were used to create the levees. Access to adjacent pits is provided free. We have all offered access for FREE. This would make a huge difference to turn around times in getting clay onto banks not to mention the savings financially. BUT NO DEW have chosen to pay for the clay from the Brinkley pit, pay for the freight to the site, causing delays and massive cost blow out. Then DEW announces in July that their total budget for LMRIA Levee works and maintenance is $3M , yes $3M. That amount is insufficient to even maintain the condition of the breeches let alone any repair work and then they get upset when farmers aren't turning up to consultation meetings. They take 3 hours from our life and in return give us platitudes and incompetence and expect a pat on the back.
This is a complete failure of the Department of Environment & Water staff, the minister and this government. The area at Pompoota has huge historical significance being the site of the soldier settlement training farm for returned servicemen from WW1. Every person who applied for a soldier settler block after WW1 went through Pompoota. The Lindner family are direct descendents of the very first service men to return from WW1 and the Grandparents of the Lindners worked with everyone that came through the training farm and continued to care for the land and historical buildings ever since. They are the last dairy farm on Pompoota and the entire family represent 6 generations of dairy farming on this WW1 soldier settler block. They faced SES & Police intervention preventing them and the community trying to save the levee in January and the community fought tooth and nail to save it before the levee let go. The cows have recently returned and they have spent time and a fortune repairing the pastures on the flats and developing the highland all while they have been prevented legally from undertaking works that are screaming out to be done on the levee because DEW are in charge of the levee. The breech today has been a kick in the guts for their efforts and reminded them that they are at the whim of bureaucrats that still get their wages every week regardless of how much they destroy other peoples livelihoods by their inaction and ineptness. DEW have chosen to only source clay from a clay pit at Brinkley - yes that is correct, they cart all the repair clay from Brinkley. They refuse to use the clay from the borrow pits that are located alongside these leveed areas and the pits that were used to create the levees. Access to adjacent pits is provided free. We have all offered access for FREE. This would make a huge difference to turn around times in getting clay onto banks not to mention the savings financially. BUT NO DEW have chosen to pay for the clay from the Brinkley pit, pay for the freight to the site, causing delays and massive cost blow out. Then DEW announces in July that their total budget for LMRIA Levee works and maintenance is $3M , yes $3M. That amount is insufficient to even maintain the condition of the breeches let alone any repair work and then they get upset when farmers aren't turning up to consultation meetings. They take 3 hours from our life and in return give us platitudes and incompetence and expect a pat on the back.