Belconnen storm-hit residents Alan Tutt and Kristen Baker feel 'neglected' by ACT government - The Canberra Times

Belconnen residents say they feel "neglected" by the ACT government, after being devastated by a storm that hit on January 3. Hawker local Alan Tutt said people in the area had only heard "silence" from the government. "If you go to anyone in Belconnen, they would be pretty disappointed, very disappointed," he said. "It was was a really major catastrophic storm and it's caused a major damage [and] I have hardly seen any resources here at all ... I don't think I've seen one emergency service personnel in the place. "Where's the services of the police banging on doors? Finding out are you OK? We had no electricity ... There's no police. There was no emergency [services]." ACT State Emergency Services said it had completed 1023 jobs following the storm, and the initial response was completed on January 8. It said it did not undergo door knocking because of the pandemic, but did address the public through regular radio interviews. Another resident, Kristen Baker, said locals and people looking for firewood have done the only cleaning up in her street. Ms Baker said when a tree fell onto her elderly neighbour's driveway on January 3, it was the community that cleared it. "Someone trimmed a bit more off her tree last week, but it's all still lying on the verge, and it's dry, and we're in a bushfire zone," she said. Mr Tutt said while his street was "very bonded", and cared for their elderly neighbours, he was concerned about others who did not have community support. ACT ESA said "trees or debris that have fallen on public land need to be lodged through ACT government - fix my street" and those on private land not threatening safety should be removed by a private company. In the weeks following the disaster, the ACT government set up an information hub in Molonglo which included charging stations, portable cooler ice, showers and washing machines. It also provided free food disposal, and an extra green bin for some Belconnen suburbs. However, Mr Tutt said the services were promoted through social media, but did not reach everyone in the area. Ms Baker said many locals did not have access to phones because of power blackouts. The ESA said it did radio interviews to help reach affected Canberrans. READ MORE: Ms Baker also said despite reporting damage through Access Canberra, she and other locals had not heard anything from the ACT government. "It's disappointing. We've been neglected and now that things have gotten worse, we're still in the dark, and literally for a period of time," she said. "The sentiment on the ground here is that what are we paying our rates for if we can't get the help we need when we need it most?" They both said many of the trees which fell onto power lines, cars and homes had been reported to the ACT government as dangerous. "We live with risks every day, relating to those trees, and they've never approved many requests to either help manage them or remove the risk," Ms Baker said. "And then when the risk is realised in the storm that happened last Monday ... they're not here to help us clean up and respond to the issue." An ACT government spokesperson said eight dead trees and debris at Hawker Primary School would be removed by Monday, January 24. Our journalists work hard to provide local, up-to-date news to the community. This is how you can continue to access our trusted content:

Hawker local Alan Tutt said people in the area had only heard "silence" from the government.

"If you go to anyone in Belconnen, they would be pretty disappointed, very disappointed," he said.

"It was was a really major catastrophic storm and it's caused a major damage [and] I have hardly seen any resources here at all ... I don't think I've seen one emergency service personnel in the place.

"Where's the services of the police banging on doors? Finding out are you OK? We had no electricity ... There's no police. There was no emergency [services]."

Kristen Baker, pictured at her Hawker home with daughters Ivy, 11, and Scarlett, 12, Fox. Picture: Sitthixay Ditthavong

ACT State Emergency Services said it had completed 1023 jobs following the storm, and the initial response was completed on January 8. It said it did not undergo door knocking because of the pandemic, but did address the public through regular radio interviews.

Another resident, Kristen Baker, said locals and people looking for firewood have done the only cleaning up in her street. Ms Baker said when a tree fell onto her elderly neighbour's driveway on January 3, it was the community that cleared it.

"Someone trimmed a bit more off her tree last week, but it's all still lying on the verge, and it's dry, and we're in a bushfire zone," she said.

Mr Tutt said while his street was "very bonded", and cared for their elderly neighbours, he was concerned about others who did not have community support.

Alan Tutt, pictured near Hawker Primary School, said Belconnen locals were "very disappointed" at the storm clean-up. Picture: Sitthixay Ditthavong

ACT ESA said "trees or debris that have fallen on public land need to be lodged through ACT government - fix my street" and those on private land not threatening safety should be removed by a private company.

In the weeks following the disaster, the ACT government set up an information hub in Molonglo which included charging stations, portable cooler ice, showers and washing machines. It also provided free food disposal, and an extra green bin for some Belconnen suburbs.

However, Mr Tutt said the services were promoted through social media, but did not reach everyone in the area. Ms Baker said many locals did not have access to phones because of power blackouts. The ESA said it did radio interviews to help reach affected Canberrans.

READ MORE:

Ms Baker also said despite reporting damage through Access Canberra, she and other locals had not heard anything from the ACT government.

"It's disappointing. We've been neglected and now that things have gotten worse, we're still in the dark, and literally for a period of time," she said. "The sentiment on the ground here is that what are we paying our rates for if we can't get the help we need when we need it most?"

They both said many of the trees which fell onto power lines, cars and homes had been reported to the ACT government as dangerous.

"We live with risks every day, relating to those trees, and they've never approved many requests to either help manage them or remove the risk," Ms Baker said. "And then when the risk is realised in the storm that happened last Monday ... they're not here to help us clean up and respond to the issue."

An ACT government spokesperson said eight dead trees and debris at Hawker Primary School would be removed by Monday, January 24.

Hawker resident Alan Tutt said he expected more from government services. Picture: Sitthixay Ditthavong

Our journalists work hard to provide local, up-to-date news to the community. This is how you can continue to access our trusted content:

Adblock test (Why?)

https://news.google.com/__i/rss/rd/articles/CBMib2h0dHBzOi8vd3d3LmNhbmJlcnJhdGltZXMuY29tLmF1L3N0b3J5Lzc1ODgzOTIvcmVzaWRlbnRzLWluLXN0b3JtLWhpdC1zdWJ1cmJzLWZlZWwtbmVnbGVjdGVkLWJ5LWFjdC1nb3Zlcm5tZW50L9IBAA?oc=5

2022-01-23 18:30:00Z
CAIiEJ618et3xkEFkGuK-Sc827sqGQgEKhAIACoHCAowj8GbCzDTy7MDMN6ijwc

Bagikan Berita Ini

Search

Belconnen storm-hit residents Alan Tutt and Kristen Baker feel 'neglected' by ACT government - The Canberra Times

0 Response to "Belconnen storm-hit residents Alan Tutt and Kristen Baker feel 'neglected' by ACT government - The Canberra Times"

Post a Comment