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Post-flood infrastructure needs resilient rebuild: CCAA

Flood

 

Cement, Concrete & Aggregates Australia (CCAA) has lobbied all levels of government to consider the resilience of building materials in the wake of Australia’s east coast floods. 

Many key pieces of infrastructure including bridges and roads have been washed away or filled with potholes which threaten to damage vehicles and disrupt road supply chains.  

CCAA chief executive officer Ken Slattery said these effects must be avoided the next time significant flooding occurs.  

“Given that scientists are increasingly warning that climate change will bring more frequent and extreme weather events – such as floods and bushfires – governments must insist that roads, bridges and related transport infrastructure are designed to withstand these events, and this means that they must be built from the most resilient materials possible,” he said.  

Resilient infrastructure can be the difference between emergency supplies reaching their destination or not, according to Slattery, defining the survivability of future natural disasters.  

“The 2019 bushfires and the recent floods in New South Wales and Queensland are just the latest examples of the havoc extreme weather events can play on the infrastructure that local communities rely on,” he said. 

“That’s why governments need to step up and ensure that when we’re building roads and bridges for the future, that they are made from materials that are the most robust and resilient so that they can withstand whatever nature throws at them.” 

In early March, Queensland Treasurer Cameron Dick told a press conference that the cost to repair public infrastructure in Queensland would total at least $1 billion following these latest floods. 

“That includes things like roads, rail systems, bridges and other infrastructure,” he said. 

Additionally, the cost of repairing private infrastructure like housing and businesses will be in the $900 millions. 

“We anticipate the impact on our budget will be in this financial year and perhaps next financial year,” the Treasurer said. 

“The return to surplus in 2024/25 will remain on track, but of course we will be in the hands of nature and the hands of the weather.” 

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