News

Bligh muddies the waters with new Ministerial roles

Changes to the Bligh Labor Government Cabinet have set the foundations for a brand new blame game with water management and flood mitigation.  Under the new structure responsibility for water had been split across three portfolios. The new structure has left the administrative set-up for water responsibilities anything but clear. 

Stephen Robertson and Rachel Nolan now have exactly the same responsibility for bulk water supply, distribution and retail arrangements, including drought proofing our water supplies and setting dam levels. 

However, anything to do with flood mitigation, release levels and the operation manuals is handled by Kate Jones.  

Essentially there are now three Ministers responsible for the operation of Wivenhoe Dam, with two Ministers charged with the water supply function of the dam and one responsible for the flood mitigation function. 

Wivenhoe Dam has two functions, flood mitigation and water storage, but now it has three Ministers responsible for it — Robertson, Nolan and Jones. 

These new arrangements have muddied the waters and introduced a new level of obfuscation over dam management and presents great opportunities for avoiding responsibility. 

Don’t be surprised if we see a political hot potato game form with each Minister deferring their responsibility to another in an endless circle of blame. 

Queenslanders don’t want another blame game; they want proper management of water resources and reliable flood mitigation strategies that can be enacted whenever necessary.