Vested interests in the floodplain

“Vested interests of capitalism and the political hegemony had become reliant on floodplain development for economic stimulus, profiting from the community delusion of flood protection. Governments, land developers, real estate agents and property owners had all reaped the benefits of floodplain exploitation. None were likely to dispel the myth. When floodwaters raised the spectre of poor land use planning in 2011, the floods had to be framed as a bureaucratic error in dam management.”

Margaret Cook (2018) “It Will Never Happen Again”: The Myth of Flood Immunity in Brisbane” Journal of Australian Studies p331

Image: Aerial view of Brisbane and the Brisbane River. Credit: William Arthur Jones, John Oxley Library, State Library of Queensland.