SMH '‘Face reality’: Don’t build in flood prone areas, resilience boss says'
4 March 2022
An article that appeared in the Sydney Morning Herald '‘Face reality’: Don’t build in flood-prone areas, resilience boss says'. The article prompted the then Shadow Minister for Disaster Planning Senator Murray Watt to call for the sacking of Shane Stone as the Co-ordinator General of the National Recovery and Resilience Agency. Senator Watt was supported by then Opposition Leader the Hon Anthony Albanese and the Federal Member for Solomon (based on Darwin, NT), Mr. Luke Gosling. On the change of government, Shane Stone's position was made redundant and the Agency was replaced by another. In a matter of months, the new Minister Senator the Honorable Murray Watt was endorsing the view for which Shane Stone was removed. The Minister had previously conceded in a conversation and in at least 2 speeches that ''you mouth off in Opposition'' and then reality bites. The support from the Insurance Council of Australia at the time was predictably underwhelming. One criticism made of Shane Stone was that he should have waited before making his comments. In his view, it was important that a national conversation was started without delay. There is never a right time. Also in the case of Lismore, there was ongoing repeat flooding over many months so when exactly was the right time to speak up? For months before the major floods in Lismore, Shane Stone had been in the city consulting with Local Government and community representatives to agree on a strategy going forward, then disaster struck. Shane Stone did not resile from his initial statements (nor did he claim he was misquoted, the usual [political sidestep) Shane Stone firmly believes he spoke to the truth whereas some in government and Opposition could not bring themselves to enter a long overdue national conversation or act on what was obviously coming. The hypocrisy of the Labor Government did not go unnoticed by some in the media. See in particular Paul Murray on SKY.
- Document type: Media
- Time periods: Australian Public Service, Post Australia Public Service
- People: Anthony ALBANESE, Luke GOSLING, Andrew HALL, Michael KOZIOL, Scott MORRISON, Paul MURRAY, Dominic PERROTTET, Murray WATT
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