Thousands of Queensland families whose homes were flooded when a torrent of water was released from a dam will lose $ 440 million in compensation after a court ruling.
- Court of Appeal ruled in favor of state-owned dam operator Seqwater
- Seqwater appealed the 2019 court ruling that ruled residents during the 2011 floods
- The Queensland government and SunWater agreed in 2019 to pay flood victims
- Flood victims say New South Wales Court of Appeals decision has left Seqwater out of trouble
- Ipswich flood victim Paul Tully said the only course of action is to go to Superior Court
Queensland flood victims could lose $ 440 million in compensation following a massive court victory for government-owned dam operator Seqwater.
The victims say a NSW The Court of Appeal's decision has left the main offender responsible for exacerbating the 2011 floods out of harm's way.
They have already foreshadowed a challenge in Superior Court, saying they have waited a decade to receive compensation, so what is a few more years?
Victims of the 2011 Queensland floods said a decision by the New South Wales Court of Appeals left the main offender responsible for exacerbating the floods out of harm's way.
The court ruled in favor of Seqwater, which appealed a 2019 New South Wales Supreme Court decision that ruled nearly 7,000 Brisbane and Ipswich residents during the floods.
The 2019 decision found that Seqwater, the Queensland government and another state-owned dam operator, SunWater, exacerbated the flooding by failing to properly operate the Wivenhoe and Somerset dams.
In total, around 23,000 homes and businesses sank after large water discharges to make sure the dams did not fail.
The court ruled in favor of Seqwater, which appealed a 2019 court decision that ruled nearly 7,000 Brisbane and Ipswich residents during the floods.
The 2019 decision found that Seqwater, the Queensland government and another state-owned dam operator, SunWater, had not properly operated the Wivenhoe and Somerset dams.
The Queensland government and SunWater accepted the 2019 ruling and agreed to pay $ 440 million to compensate the victims.
But Seqwater promised to appeal and won that battle Wednesday.
If victims cannot overturn Wednesday's judgment in Superior Court, another $ 440 million will be lost, says Paul Tully, a victim of the Ipswich flood.
"This decision defies common sense and logic, since SunWater and the state government have already accepted that they were jointly responsible for the flood," he told reporters.
"Now we have the strange situation where the state government and SunWater have agreed to pay $ 440 million as their estimated 50 percent liability, while Seqwater has escaped its liability."
The Queensland government and SunWater accepted the 2019 ruling and agreed to pay $ 440 million to compensate flood victims.
Paul Tully, a victim of the Ipswich flood, said that if victims cannot overturn Wednesday's Superior Court ruling, another $ 440 million will be lost.
He later told AAP that the only course of action was to go to Superior Court.
'Who cares now, it's already been 10 years. A couple more years won't make a difference.
The Maurice Blackburn law firm led the case, which was heard in New South Wales because at the time it started, class actions were not allowed in Queensland.
The firm said it would carefully review Wednesday's decision before deciding whether to launch an appeal to the Superior Court.
Tully said he and other victims could take some comfort from a settlement guaranteeing them a share of $ 440 million from SunWater and the Queensland government.
That is not affected. That money will flow next year, they can't review that and that can't be appealed, 'he said.
![NJ Family Speaks On Narrowly Escaping Drowning In Their Flooded Basement](https://i1.wp.com/i.iheart.com/v3/re/new_assets/6138b1866085b67a9d1a5af3?ops=gravity("north"),fit(740,416),quality(65)&w=75&resize=75,75&ssl=1 "NJ Family Speaks On Narrowly Escaping Drowning In Their Flooded Basement")
