I find it very strange that in the New Epoch, 2022, which heralded record-breaking ‘unforeseen, unpredicted floods’, along the east coast of Australia, has puzzled and confused many state bureaucrats and state/local politicians. When addressing predictions for future floods, back they go to the old ‘expert’ narratives that govern predictions around ‘the 50 year flood, the 100 year flood, and yes, recently the 20 year floods’. Their lips and mind cannot mould the words ‘climate change’ into consciousness. This is a stark example of climate change denial. We live in times when we have to adjust to the ‘unknown’. Science tried to prepare us 40 years ago.
ABC Radio National, the most democratic voice in Australia, has just reported a story of a man who knows a single mother with three children who came to mind during current rapid floods in NSW. He rushed to her house where she was with her terrified children as rushing, rising water entered her house. He quickly organised escape to the roof by pushing the children and mother through the ceiling. His final statement was ‘I managed to push the last child through the ceiling as the water was up to my neck!’ Currently, there is not a river system that is not in flood along the east coast of Australia. Indeed, approaches by the Australian government to NZ, Singapore and the US for helicopters have been made to deal with the lack of flood rescue infrastructure in NSW flood-affected townships for rooftop rescues.
Meanwhile in Byron, developers and Council are stuck in the narratives of housing and development and the eternal outworn debate about ‘fill’. Fill kills. It enhances flooding, can be intensely toxic and harmful. Yet, old science dominates: fill will cover acid sulphate risks; fill will enhance a floodplain for development; fill is safe for some houses, but alas not for others. Commerce and fill on floodplains enhances the $$$ for developers.
In times of flood fill travels into communities and spreads floods, which rise and rise and kill sentient beings. Fill does not aid homelessness (read Michelle Grant’s recent letter in The Echo). Duncan Dey believes that statewide there should be a total moratorium on the use of fill. Who could disagree? Alas, Mullum, Brunswick and the Byron A&I Estate can expect more fill horrors. Someone is making a motza out of fill. Time to snap out of false consciousness folks.
For four decades The Echo has printed the stories some people loved, some people hated, and some pretended not to read. If you want us to keep telling the truth, the real truth, not the sugar-coated version. We’ll need your support to keep the presses rolling. 
