EDITORIAL

OH ALFRED . . . . . 

WHAT A MESS YOU HAVE LEFT!

It was the first time in more than 50 years that an active cyclone had actually crossed the coastline in SE Queensland.

And yes, we definitely noticed!

Queensland Premier David Crisafulli, (who knows our islands well from his visit here just prior to last year’s State election), mentioned it was our islands that were the first to bare the brunt of Alfred at its worst.

Hardly anyone else or media outlet, were able to make that observation. 

Never were our islands so alone and so isolated.

All electronic communication was totally eradicated.

No internet, no mobile phones, no communication whilst the wind howled and battered our plentiful island trees to the ground, taking our electrical power system with it.

We did discover, however, some residences that were powered by solar and battery got through with full power to their homes.

Anyone who thinks trees and power lines are a good mix, has got rocks in their head.

The heavily-treed areas on the eastern side of Russell and Macleay Islands were the first to lose power.

And it stayed that way for almost a week.

Many islanders got to experience what it is like to be totally alone and isolated.

It brings home the lesson of just how important electricity is in our lives.

The biggest lesson to be learned is just how do we go about protecting ourselves from future disasters; and yes, there will be more!

Clearly anywhere there are power lines, any trees on the same side of the road and the opposite side of the road, need to go or be severely trimmed so they cannot overhang power lines.

This needs to be a hard-and-fast rule.

The aftermath was significant devastation. Not a street was left without considerable disruption on all our islands. 

North Stradbroke Island even more so with the cyclone tearing into Straddie’s famous surfing beaches.

Erosion was catastrophic.

It was great to see Dan Golin from the Bay Islands Chamber of Commerce and Redlands MP Rebecca Young spring into action.

They brought together a host tradies and helpers to make their way around the islands, felling dangerous trees and making island roads safe for movement.

At the end of it all, Dan Golin called a meeting of those who ‘have a go’ to put in some plans for the future.

Division 5 Councillor Shane Rendalls believes the Redlands and our islands should follow the Victorian example of powerlines ‘no trees’ policy.

Energex did a brilliant job in getting our island reconnected to the power we now know we cannot do without!