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General Category => General Forum => Topic started by: Lovelee on February 17, 2009, 02:22:19 pm



Title: Aussies OTHER disaster
Post by: Lovelee on February 17, 2009, 02:22:19 pm
FRUSTRATED Normanton and Karumba residents yesterday vented outrage at being the "forgotten people" while governments continued to focus on natural disasters everywhere but the Gulf.

The flood-ravaged communities have been cut off for nearly six weeks and face another five weeks trapped behind swollen rivers.

Normanton remains a 7km x 10km island in an inland sea and the road to Karumba is a vast watershed stretching as far as the eye can see with most of the Carpentaria Shire’s 68,000sq km still under water.

Kennedy member Bob Katter yesterday held public meetings in the two communities.

Angry residents voiced outrage at the slow response to get supplies to the region when the floods hit and the failure to get non-essential supplies into the region weeks into the disaster.

Mr Katter told residents there was no excuse for the tardy response by government and lashed out at its refusal to treat the region as a disaster area.

"It is just not good enough," he said.

(http://www.2and2.net/files/499a2dafe4ee8.jpg)

"You guys are just asking for a fair go and you are not getting one tenth of what you deserve."

Carpentaria Acting Mayor Joyce Zahner said yesterday the region felt abandoned by the State and Federal governments.

"We are 2000 people and we are stranded and we are desperate and things are getting bad," she said.

"The people of Victoria have lost lives and it’s terrible but we have lost 100,000 head of cattle and our lives are in limbo."

Normanton butcher Ashley Gallagher said residents and local businesses were frustrated at a failure to adequately re-supply the region.

"Charters Towers and Ingham got help within 24 hours but in five and a half weeks we have only had three planes and two barges," Mr Gallagher said.

"Normanton and Karumba used to get between eight to nine semi-trailers a week, which is about 200 tonnes, and now we are down to about 60 tonnes and it is just not enough."

Normanton Foodworks owner Jeff Short said each week his business was losing up to $4000 because he had no stock but he still had to pay wages and rent.

A Raptis & Son owner Robert Musumeci said the fishing company had been forced to lay off a number of its 30 staff because non-essential items, which are vital to the running of the business, were not getting into town.

Karumba Progress Association secretary Yvonne Tunney said locals were not eligible for any Federal or State government assistance packages.

http://www.cairns.com.au/article/2009/02/17/29055_local-news.html


Title: Re: Aussies OTHER disaster
Post by: Lovelee on February 17, 2009, 02:26:24 pm
LARGE crocodiles lurking near flooded causeways on Far Northern rivers are adding to an already deadly situation for drivers, police say.

The warning comes after several near misses at causeways on the Cape where not only have causeway approaches been washed away but large saltwater crocodiles are lurking nearby.

Laura police acting Sen-Constable Glen De Lay said the most recent near miss came in the early hours of Sunday morning after an Aurukun man attempted to cross the Laura River’s northern causeway in the middle of the night.

"The driver was very lucky the vehicle did not get washed downstream," he said.

"We could have had a fatality on our hands." Just days earlier a four-wheel drive vehicle with two infant occupants became stranded in the southern Laura River after an unsuccessful attempt to cross it, causing an adult occupant of the vehicle to carry the children about 50m through the flooded river to safety.

"There have been sightings of a sizeable estuarine crocodile at the southern Laura River crossing in the past week prior to this 4WD vehicle becoming stranded. Signs have been erected to warn the public of the danger," Sen-Constable De Lay said.

"For this reason I would also discourage any person from walking flooded river crossings in the Cape prior to crossing them."

The Peninsula Developmental Rd is impassable at the northern Laura River crossing and the road from near Cooktown to the tip of the Cape is closed to all but local traffic.
http://www.cairns.com.au/article/2009/02/17/29065_local-news.html


Title: Re: Aussies OTHER disaster
Post by: donquixotenz on February 17, 2009, 03:19:16 pm
Interesting to note that the croc was protected as the vested interest croc hunters and breeders complained they were being hunted for their skins to extinction.
Dumb aussies accepted that where as the things are endemic and have survived since the dinosuars........
Now they are bleating when the overpopulation is taking stock people and kids and all tidal rivers are danger spots.
They make great bags I have a large Gladstone made of croc skin I bought back in the late 50's. It still suitable for 1st class travel without embarassment even after all those yaers of use and even a litter of kittens that the cat had in it in the 70's.


Title: Re: Aussies OTHER disaster
Post by: Lovelee on February 17, 2009, 03:34:39 pm
Ordinarily the crocs arnt that much of a problem - locals know where each of them live and stay clear.  However when their river floods, the crocs just move on up the bank, closer to habited areas.

There was a 5 yr old kid taken a couple of weeks ago - the child of a local - the crocs arnt a danger unless conditions are like now or stupid tourists dont think.



Title: Re: Aussies OTHER disaster
Post by: guest49 on February 17, 2009, 03:58:15 pm
Ther're even less of a danger when transformed into boots or bags.


Title: Re: Aussies OTHER disaster
Post by: Lovelee on February 17, 2009, 04:14:01 pm
 ;D


Title: Re: Aussies OTHER disaster
Post by: Lovelee on February 18, 2009, 07:44:38 am
You know theres a heat wave on when u spot this:

(http://www.2and2.net/files/499b2122d5acb.jpg)


(http://www.2and2.net/files/499b2181295af.jpg)


(http://www.2and2.net/files/499b21cce53e1.jpg)