Brace for the worst Fires, floods, power cuts

Courier Mail
Friday 7/11/2008 Page: 16

PEOPLE in Queensland should brace themselves for major bushfires, more power cuts and floods because of climate change, a report has claimed. The Australian Academy of Technological Sciences and Engineering yesterday called for a national taskforce to help Australia adapt to the changing climate. Federal Climate Change Minister Penny Wong launched the report in Melbourne. "With more extreme weather events resulting from climate change, the potential impact on our buildings is a significant concern," she said.

In Queensland, the report looked at effects on gas, oil and coal infrastructure as well as transport, buildings and communication links. Drought would put pressure on water-cooled power stations and increased tires, coupled in north Queensland with more severe storms, could jeopardise electricity distribution, it said. "It was noted that there was increased likelihood of bushfires and that the consequences of this could be significant for a region in which bushfires have not had the same sort of impact experienced regularly by Victoria and NSW," the report said.

The Gold Coast, with its low-lying land and extensive housing and tourism development, was singled out as an area "vulnerable to effects of flooding, causing property damage as well as erosion". The director of Griffith University's National Climate Change Adaption Research Facility, Jean Palutikof, welcomed the depth of the study and the call for a taskforce.

But Professor Palutikof warned against duplicating existing efforts. Professor Keith Crews, deputy director at the Centre for Built Infrastructure Research in Sydney, said the report was a "wake-up call" for all levels of government to recognise the need to develop resources for rehabilitation and upgrading of key infrastructure. CSIRO Climate Adaptation National Research Flagship director Andrew Ash said the report "clearly highlights that Australia's infrastructure is highly vulnerable to the effects of climate change and climate variability".